National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Friday, stayed the initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Reliance Infrastructure as it was informed that the company had settled the due amount, the Economic Times of India reported. NCLAT also stayed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order, which admitted Reliance Infra into insolvency over unpaid debt of around ₹90 crore.
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A slight easing in Japan’s consumer inflation is welcome news for the central bank, but stubbornly high food prices will be of concern for policymakers whose hands remain tied by tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Core consumer prices, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 3.3% from a year earlier in June, government data showed Friday. That compared with May’s 3.7% rise, and matched the forecast in a poll of economists by data provider Quick.
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Indonesia is still negotiating details of its recently-reached trade deal with the United States after Washington lowered tariff rates on the Southeast Asian country, and is pursuing exemptions for its exports of palm oil and nickel, an official said on Friday, Reuters reported. The two countries reached a trade deal this week that led to a reduction in the threatened U.S. proposed tariff rate to 19% from 32%. The deal was one of only a handful reached so far by the Trump administration ahead of the August 1 negotiation deadline with numerous countries.
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Major automakers should push for "rational competition" in the electric vehicle industry, a senior Chinese official said on Thursday, according to a statement from the industry ministry published on Friday, Reuters reported. The comments from Che Jun, head of a Communist Party central leading group, came a day after China's cabinet pledged to regulate what it called "irrational" competition in the EV market and vowed to strengthen price-monitoring. Che Jun spoke at a meeting attended by officials from the industry ministry and representatives from automakers BYD and BAIC Group.
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Byju's founders Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath are preparing a $2.5 billion lawsuit in India and overseas as the edtech giant battles insolvency proceedings and a legal dispute with Glas Trust, trustee for Term Loan B lenders, the Times of India reported. According to their legal counsel, the planned legal action will be pursued both in India and internationally, targeting those who have allegedly harmed their reputation and business interests, including their edtech company Think & Learn.
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Australian employment rose only marginally in June as the jobless rate jumped to the highest since late 2021, showing perhaps the first crack in what had been an unusually resilient labour market and adding to the case for a rate cut next month. Investors sent the Australian dollar down 0.7% to $0.6480, the lowest in over three weeks. Three-year government bond yields slid 10 basis points to 3.386% as markets ramped up bets for an August rate cut to 85% from 76% previously.
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The U.S. Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized, Bloomberg News reported. A trade association representing US graphite producers in December filed petitions with two federal agencies, asking for investigations into whether Chinese companies were violating anti-dumping laws. The new duties will add to existing rates making the effective tariff 160%, according to American Active Anode Material Producers, the trade group that filed the complaint.
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China’s government is threatening to block a deal that would transfer ownership of dozens of seaports to Western investors if Cosco, China’s largest shipping company, doesn’t get a stake, the Wall Street Journal reported. The proposed sale includes two ports at the Panama Canal and more than 40 others around the world, all owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison. China is pushing for state-owned Cosco to be an equal partner and shareholder of the ports with BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Co., a containership operator.
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