Damages from deadly earthquakes in Turkey last week will probably exceed $20 billion, the risk modelling company Verisk estimated on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Only a fraction of the damages - likely more than $1 billion - is covered by insurance, Verisk said. The figures come on top of the enormous loss of life from the disaster, with the death toll having risen to 31,974 by Tuesday. Earthquakes are relatively common in Turkey, and despite regulations to build to protect against earthquakes, results have been "mixed", Verisk said.

India's annual retail inflation in January rose above the central bank's upper threshold for the first time in three months, on higher food prices, vindicating last week's hawkish monetary policy stance, Reuters reported. India's annual retail inflation rate rose to 6.52% in January from 5.72% in December, government data showed on Monday. January's retail inflation was above the Reserve Bank of India's upper targeted limit of 6% for the first time since October and much higher than the 5.9% estimate, according to a Reuters poll of 44 analysts.

Talks between the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan will resume virtually on Monday, a Pakistani official said, as the two sides look to reach a deal to unlock funding critical to keep the cash-strapped south Asian country afloat, Reuters reported. The two could not reach a deal last week and a visiting IMF delegation departed Islamabad after 10 days of talks, but said negotiations would continue. Pakistan is in dire need of funds as it battles a wrenching economic crisis.

Japan’s currency is resisting the urge to join in on a period of relative calm, Bloomberg News reported. Volatility has stayed high ever since the Bank of Japan lifted the cap on Japanese bond yields in December. Uncertainty about the outlook of future policy moves is keeping yen traders on edge more so than their counterparts who trade other global assets, including Japanese equities. The yen initially strengthened on Friday after a report that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will nominate Kazuo Ueda to take the helm of the central bank.

India's bankruptcy court has admitted McLeod Russel India, the world's largest tea producer, under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), the Economic Times of India reported. The Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has appointed Ritesh Prasad Adatiya as the interim resolution professional (IRP). This came on a plea by the IL&FS Infrastructure Debt Fund, after McLeod Russel defaulted on dues of over ₹347 crore in November 2019.

The World Bank said on Thursday it is providing Turkey with $1.78 billion in relief and recovery financing assistance as the country struggles with the aftermath of an earthquake that has killed over 20,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless, Reuters reported. The World Bank said in a statement that $780 million will become available for Ankara immediately, as the funds will be diverted from two existing World Bank loan projects in Turkey.

Japan's government is likely to appoint academic Kazuo Ueda as the next Bank of Japan governor, two government officials told Reuters, a surprise choice that could see the country finally align with other major economies in raising interest rates, Reuters reported. Ueda, a former BOJ policy board member and an academic at Kyoritsu Women's University, is considered an expert on monetary policy but had not even been seen as a dark horse candidate for the top job.

The United States is violating the principles of market economy and international trade rules in considering a ban on Chinese citizens buying property in the United States, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday, Reuters reported. "Generalizing the concept of national security and politicising economic, trade and investment issues violate the rules of market economy and international trade rules," spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.

A daunting economic landscape will exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe wrought by a pair of earthquakes on Turkey, as early estimates of the damage point to mounting inflation and budget risks, Bloomberg News reported. Turkey has suspended trade on its main stock stock exchange following a sharp drop and the lira remains propped up by support measures. Meanwhile, Turkish financial assets whose movements remain unrestricted largely stabilized, with some even appreciating on Thursday.

Beijing is trying to kick-start economic growth after lifting its stringent Covid-19 restrictions. One challenge: Chinese citizens borrowed less and saved more last year and it isn’t clear how long it will take to return to freer-spending ways, the Wall Street Journal reported. Individuals in China took out the equivalent of $564 billion in new loans in 2022, down more than half from a year earlier, marking the lowest total since 2014 according to government data. The big drop was largely due to a decline in home sales, which translated into lower demand for new mortgages.