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A new study has revealed that almost two-thirds of football clubs in the top two divisions of Japan's Professional Football League, also known as the J-League, could be at risk of bankruptcy, Phys.org reported. The work is published in the Journal of Applied Accounting Research. The research, conducted by sports finance and economics experts from the University of Portsmouth and Sheffield Hallam University, found widespread financial issues across both the J1 and J2 leagues, with approximately 50 to 75% of the clubs at risk.

Governments owe an unprecedented $91 trillion, an amount almost equal to the size of the global economy and one that will ultimately exact a heavy toll on their populations, CNN reported. Debt burdens have grown so large — in part because of the cost of the pandemic — that they now pose a growing threat to living standards even in rich economies, including the U.S. Yet, in a year of elections around the world, politicians are largely ignoring the problem, unwilling to level with voters about the tax increases and spending cuts needed to tackle the deluge of borrowing.

Four months ago, China’s leaders announced what seemed like a straightforward and proven plan to recharge the economy: Subsidize consumers who want to replace old cars and household appliances, the New York Times reported. The early results are not promising. Only 113,000 cars qualified for trade-in subsidies through June 25 — a blip in a country where monthly sales exceed 2 million cars. And buyers of new appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators are being offered discounts of only about 10 percent, depending on what city they live in.

June marked a significant uptick in the number of employees affected by corporate bankruptcies in Sweden, reaching the highest level recorded in the past five years, MENAFN reported. Approximately 1,400 employees were impacted by the bankruptcy of automotive components firm IAC Group Sweden alone, according to data, citing insights from Credit Safe, a leading credit information provider. Overall, the total number of employees affected by company bankruptcies across Sweden in the past month surged to 3,500.

One of the messages that helped propel the far-right National Rally to the brink of power in France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday — a once-unthinkable shift — is a common refrain in U.S. politics: It’s the economy, stupid, the New York Times reported. Both the National Rally and a coalition of left-wing parties called New Popular Front won large gains in part by tapping into anger over a cost-of-living crisis and a sense that President Emmanuel Macron had grown out of touch and did not understand their struggles.

The World Bank and other top development banks got a double boost on Tuesday as Fitch said debt payment freezes for climate-disaster hit countries would not hit the banks' credit rating and it would no longer cap ratings on new 'hybrid' bonds, Reuters reported. The World Bank and some other lenders started inserting Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDC) last year that allow vulnerable low income countries to defer their repayments for up to two years if they are hit by a severe hurricane, flood or other type of catastrophe.

Japan's finance minister said on Tuesday authorities were vigilant to sharp currency market moves, as the yen continued its slump to fresh 38-year lows against the dollar, but stopped short of giving a clear intervention warning, Reuters reported. The change in official daily commentary to reporters, in which an intervention warning has become almost customary, comes as analysts question the effectiveness of such jawboning in stopping sharp yen declines.

China’s central bank’s plan to borrow bonds may slow but won’t quash their rally, as the fundamental reasons driving demand for debt are unlikely to reverse, according to analysts, Bloomberg reported. The impact of the People’s Bank of China move may instead be to put a floor on yields and send them into a range, they said. Benchmark yields rebounded from a record low Monday after the PBOC said it would borrow government bonds from primary dealers, a sign it may be contemplating selling securities to cool down a hot bond market.

Australian home prices rose in June for a seventeenth straight month, as tight supply outweighed demand-side pressures of high interest rates, a cost of living squeeze and tight lending conditions, property consultant CoreLogic said on Monday, Reuters reported. Data from CoreLogic showed national home prices climbed 0.7% in June from May when it gained 0.8%. Prices are up 8.0% on a year earlier.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada in June joined the ranks of big central banks easing policy, while emerging markets ploughed ahead in their quest to lower interest rates, Reuters reported. Three of the nine central banks overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies that held meetings in June reduced their lending benchmarks, with Switzerland delivering its second rate cut in this cycle.