Thailand unveiled a fresh set of debt-relief measures to cover millions of retail borrowers and small businesses struggling to repay loans, the latest bid by authorities to tackle the highest level of household debt in Southeast Asia, Bloomberg News reported.

China's top leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken in 2025 as they brace for higher U.S. trade tariffs as Donald Trump returns to the White House, Reuters reported. The contemplated move reflects China's recognition that it needs bigger economic stimulus to combat Trump's threats of punitive trade measures. Trump has said that he plans to impose a 10% universal import tariff, and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports into the United States.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is preparing to deal with the fallout resulting from a major international trade war in the coming years, but the central bank’s deputy governor, Andrew Hauser, said it’s best to avoid prejudging the consequences for Australia, the Wall Street Journal reported. The impact that higher tariffs around the world will have on Australia’s inflation is “ambiguous,” in large part because it depends on a far wider set of considerations than the imposition of U.S. trade restrictions alone, Hauser told a meeting of economists on Wednesday.

Europe’s bid to build a homegrown battery industry to break China’s dominance in electric vehicles is failing, Bloomberg News reported. The most high-profile setback yet came with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Northvolt AB, a Swedish startup whose backers include Volkswagen AG and BMW AG. Fallout is spreading across the region as EV demand wanes and local manufacturers struggle to master the technology. Eleven out of 16 planned European-led battery factories have been delayed or canceled, according to a Bloomberg News analysis.

China's exports slowed sharply and imports unexpectedly shrank in November, in a worrying sign for the world's No. 2 economy as Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House brings fresh trade risks, Reuters reported. The disappointing trade figures follow other indicators showing patchy growth in November, suggesting Beijing needs to do more to shore up a faltering economy that is only likely to face further challenges next year. Outbound shipments grew 6.7% last month, customs data showed on Tuesday, missing a forecast 8.5% increase and down from a 12.7% rise in October.

The Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates on hold as expected on Tuesday, but said it is gaining confidence that inflation is on track to sustainably return to the target band, the Wall Street Journal reported. The official cash rate was kept at 4.35%, where it has stood for over a year. “Some of the upside risks to inflation appear to have eased and while the level of aggregate demand still appears to be above the economy’s supply capacity, that gap continues to close,” the RBA’s policy-setting board said in a statement.

Japan's bankruptcy filings this year are set to surpass 10,000 and hit the highest since 2013, private-sector data by Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) showed on Monday, ahead of a closely watched central bank meeting next week, Reuters reported. In November, 841 Japanese companies went bankrupt, bringing the January-November tally to 9,164, already exceeding last year's total, data from the credit research agency showed. The 2024 bankruptcy figure will likely exceed 10,000 for the first time since 2013, when 10,855 firms went bankrupt. The Bank of Japan holds a rate review on Dec.

The Japanese economy grew more quickly than initially estimated in the July-September quarter, fueling expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates soon and lending further strength to the yen, the Wall Street Journal reported. Real gross domestic product expanded 1.2% on an annualized basis in the quarter, compared with 0.9% growth in the preliminary estimates released in mid-November. The Japanese economy grew 0.3% from the previous quarter, revised government data showed on Monday.

The Chinese government plans to transfer ownership in one of the nation’s biggest bad-debt managers to a unit of its sovereign wealth fund in coming weeks as part of a regulatory overhaul, Bloomberg News reported. The Ministry of Finance is currently going through the process to move its holdings in China Cinda Asset Management Co. to Central Huijin Investment Ltd. The plan is in its final stage but may still change or get delayed.