Slightly over two-fifths of the bankruptcy orders in the first half of 2024 were due to business failures, with debtors borrowing from various sources including banks, credit card issuers, licensed moneylenders and private individuals, the Straits Times reported. This was stated by Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) board member Alvin Tan in Parliament on Oct 16. He was responding to two questions by Mr Derrick Goh (Nee Soon GRC) and labour MP Melvin Yong (Radin Mas) on the causes for the rising number of bankruptcies in Singapore.

The Japanese bankruptcy trustee overseeing funds from defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has extended its payout deadline by yet another year. Many who’d looked forward to the end of October 2024 to find out if they’d receive a payout now have another year to wait—until October 31, 2025, CoinGeek.com reported. This was due to many remaining creditors still not receiving payouts, having missed key submission deadlines, or after encountering other issues in the process. At stake are the remains of Mt. Gox’s 2014 deposit pool of JPY698,246,328 and around 200,000 BTC.

China’s policymakers rolled out fresh stimulus aimed at boosting the country’s sluggish property sector, though the measures fell short of hopes for more specific liquidity support, the Wall Street Journal reported. Authorities plan to fast-track credit for struggling property developers, and aim to renovate 1 million apartments in so-called urban shantytowns, a strategy used during the prior real-estate slump, the housing ministry and other policymakers said Thursday at a highly anticipated press conference.

Turkey’s central bank extended its interest-rate pause for a seventh month and adopted a more hard-line stance on the course of inflation, pushing back expectations for a rate cut into next year, Bloomberg News reported. The Monetary Policy Committee under Governor Fatih Karahan kept the one-week repo rate at 50%, in line with almost all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. The policymakers had appeared to soften their position last month, prompting analysts to believe a rate cut could be imminent, but Thursday’s statement reversed the course.

Thailand’s central bank has joined the ranks of monetary authorities who are easing monetary policy, surprising markets with its first rate cut in over four years to help boost the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision wasn’t unanimous. The Bank of Thailand said Wednesday that its policy committee voted five to two to reduce the policy interest rate to 2.25% from 2.50%. The bank had kept its key rate at a decade-high since September last year, but has faced rising pressure to lower borrowing costs to lift an economy struggling with tepid demand.

Indonesia’s central bank kept its key interest rate steady as expected, pausing an easing cycle as external risks drag on the rupiah currency, Bloomberg News reported. Bank Indonesia left the benchmark BI-Rate unchanged at 6% on Wednesday, as predicted by 30 of the 41 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, with the rest expecting a quarter-point cut. Last month, the central bank surprised markets by initiating an easing cycle ahead of the Federal Reserve’s move.

The Philippine central bank cuts its policy rate for the second time this year as it looks to bolster its economy amid mounting uncertainty abroad, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona said Wednesday that the central bank would deliver a 25-basis-point cut, lowering its benchmark overnight reverse repurchase rate to 6.00%. It will also cut its benchmark lending rate to 6.50% from 6.75%, he said.

Rhythm House, the iconic music store in South Mumbai’s cultural and heritage precinct Kala Ghoda, has found a new owner. Bhaane Retail, a subsidiary of Shahi Exports, India's largest apparel manufacturer, has emerged as the highest bidder for the property in an insolvency auction with a Rs 30-crore offer, the Economic Times of India reported. A cultural landmark since the 1940s, Rhythm House was a favourite haunt for music lovers and Bollywood icons including Kishore Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Nargis and AR Rahman before closing its doors in 2016 after nearly 70 storied years.