A measure of inflation closely watched by Australian policymakers was lower than expected in the second quarter, taking pressure off the central bank to raise interest rates further at its policy meeting next week, the Wall Street Journal reported. Trimmed mean inflation, which is a key focus for the Reserve Bank of Australia, rose 3.9% from a year earlier in the second quarter, beating the central bank’s forecast of 3.8%. Economists had expected trimmed mean inflation would rise by 4.0%.

Chinese solar module producer Zhejiang Akcome New Energy Technology has filed for bankruptcy at one of its subsidiaries, citing an inability to repay its debts, according to a Monday filing, Reuters reported. Zhejiang Akcome Photoelectricity Technology's petition to enter bankruptcy restructuring was submitted by the parent company and was accepted by Changxing county court in eastern Zhejiang province, according to the filing with the Shenzhen stock exchange.

Liquidators trying to recoup at least a fraction of creditors’ investments in defaulted Chinese builders are running into dead-ends, Bloomberg News reported. They have encountered a host of challenges, from trying to get paid to scouring for financial documents and elusive executives. Creditors in three cases, including Sinic Holdings Group Co. and Yango Justice International Ltd., haven’t seen any significant distribution. Sinic’s case stalled, for example, after representatives from Kroll (HK) Ltd. didn’t land funding for an investigation to recover the financial books, the people said.

Chinese leaders said they would take more aggressive steps to boost consumer spending and head off a worsening set of economic challenges, signaling rising concern about flagging momentum in the world’s second-largest economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Communist Party’s top policymaking body, the 24-member Politburo, pledged more measures to boost household income and reduce funding costs for companies, though the report from the state-run Xinhua News Agency offered few specifics on what it is planning.

Byju’s is in talks to settle the dues it owes India’s cricket governing body, lawyers for both sides told a court Tuesday, raising the prospect that the online tutoring startup may resolve a key dispute and avert insolvency, Bloomberg News reported. Byju’s has “almost resolved” a dispute over unpaid fees to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and will pay “a certain tranche of the money” by this evening, Arun Kathpalia, a lawyer representing the edtech firm told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal during a hearing.

Pakistan cut its benchmark interest rate for a second consecutive meeting as slowing price gains give policymakers room to focus on shoring up growth in the cash-strapped South Asian nation, Bloomberg News reported. The State Bank of Pakistan reduced the target policy rate by 100 basis points to 19.50%, according to central bank governor Jameel Ahmad. The move was predicted by 31 out of 51 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Japanese companies established Thailand’s auto industry virtually from scratch, dating back to the years after World War II. By the late 1970s, Japanese brands commanded around 90 percent of car sales in Thailand. They invested in building Thai supply chains, and their cars were also widely perceived by customers as reliable, the New York Times reported. In the 1990s, American and South Korean automakers targeted the Thai market but barely made a dent in Japan’s share.

A Hong Kong court on Monday adjourned a hearing into a petition seeking liquidation of Country Garden until Jan. 20, 2025, giving a breather to the embattled Chinese developer which is trying to finalise an offshore debt revamp plan, Reuters reported. Ever Credit Limited, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Kingboard Holdings, filed the liquidation petition against Country Garden in February for non-payment of a $205 million loan. The developer defaulted on its $11 billion worth of offshore bonds last year.

Shares of China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle fell 7% in Monday morning trade after individual creditors of two of its units sought court approval for the units to go through bankruptcy proceedings and be reorganised, Reuters reported. The electric car maker said its units Evergrande New Energy Vehicle (Guangdong) and Evergrande Smart Automotive (Guangdong) had received notice from a local court about the July 25 application.

Taking strong exception to slow action under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), govt has started monitoring the top 20 cases, while also asking bank chiefs to closely follow the top 20 cases with their banks, the Times of India reported. This has led to movement in Jaiprakash Associates and Amtek Auto, where lenders were seen to be dragging their feet. "Banks have been citing delays in the tribunal, but we discovered that they were themselves to blame.