China’s economy slowed sharply in the quarter ending June, revealing vulnerabilities in the country’s growth model, which is predominantly propelled by exports with little appetite for domestic consumption, experts say, Al Jazeera reported. Gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter clocked in at 4.3 percent, the country’s slowest rate of expansion in more than three years, and lower than the 5 percent growth clocked in the previous quarter, despite a surge in exports driven by a boom in artificial intelligence and strong demand for Chinese electric vehicles.

Homeplus pulled back from the edge of bankruptcy on Thursday by securing 200 billion won ($135 million) in emergency financing from Meritz Financial Group, but the retailer still faces a steep climb toward normal operations and long-term survival, the Korea Herald reported. Homeplus plans to appeal the court's termination decision by its July 20 deadline. If accepted, rehabilitation would extend to Sept. 4, while Homeplus must still win creditor and court approval for a revised plan or risk another termination and bankruptcy.

New Delhi, The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has given a go-ahead to the ongoing insolvency proceedings against KKSPUN India, a manufacturer and supplier of precast concrete solutions and telecom products, the Economic Times of India reported. The appellate tribunal NCLAT upheld the earlier order of the Delhi bench of NCLT, which had only on July 11, 2025, directed the initiation of insolvency proceedings after finding a default repayment of financial debt.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has strongly criticized the government over issues involving leveraged derivative products that have caused severe volatility in the domestic stock market, as well as the "active debt forgiveness" policy ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, calling for immediate countermeasures, SBS World News reported.

South Korea’s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in over three years, joining its global peers to tighten policy in the face of inflation fueled by the U.S.-Iran conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank of Korea Gov. Shin Hyun-song said that the bank would tighten policy further in coming months, citing stronger-than-expected economic growth and inflation. “We will respond until we are confident that inflation is converging stably to the target,” Shin said, adding that the pace of further rate hikes would depend on incoming data.

Jack Chen has never defaulted on a loan since he began borrowing to cover expenses during his internship days, but his credit report now carries a red flag because of his swelling debt burden, ​and new loan applications are being rejected, Reuters reported. That leaves the 27-year-old telecoms maintenance worker from Jiangsu province facing a default of around 140,000 yuan ($20,685) — equivalent to about a ‌year's wages — across credit cards, online borrowing and a car loan, after his employer cut pay and scrapped a fuel allowance this year.

MBK Partners Chairman Michael Byungju Kim has offered a personal guarantee of ​200 billion won ($134 million) in emergency ‌funding for supermarket chain Homeplus, which is owned by the private equity firm, if the retailer's ​lender agrees to provide the financing ​needed for its turnaround, MBK said on ⁠Wednesday, Reuters reported. A South Korean court earlier this month terminated Homeplus's ​corporate rehabilitation proceedings after the retailer failed ​to secure the funding needed to implement its restructuring plan.

China’s economy slowed sharply to a 4.3% annualized pace of growth in the April-June quarter, the government said Wednesday, the weakest in over three years, the Associated Press reported. The official data fell short of forecasts and was far below the economy’s strong 5% pace of growth in January-March, despite a surge in exports driven partly by the boom in artificial intelligence, and by robust global demand for Chinese electric vehicles. China has largely shrugged off wider economic impacts from the Iran war as soaring energy prices pushed up global inflation.

For chief executives and business owners around the world, the Iran war is hammering home an essential reality that they are operating in a world that is riskier and more unpredictable. And that also means more expensive, according to a New York Times analysis. Even if the attacks end, the increased cost of doing business will linger. Higher prices look to be a long-lasting side effect of the war in Iran. Every business leader is saying, “I need to get myself options,” said Kevin O’Marah, chief research officer at Zero100, a firm that does research on supply chains.

Uber is set to take over Delivery Hero in a deal valuing the German food delivery company ​at about €12.5 billion ($14.34 billion), the Financial Times reported ‌on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Delivery Hero confirmed it was in advanced negotiations with Uber regarding a potential takeover offer on Tuesday. Acquiring Delivery Hero, which has ​a market value of roughly €11.6 billion, would expand ⁠the Uber Eats food-delivery network in Europe, the Middle ​East, Asia and Latin America.