Headlines

Factory activity faltered across Asia in August, with a resurgence in Covid-19 infections adding to global supply-chain disruptions and confirming fears of a slowdown in the region’s economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gauges of manufacturing activity plummeted across major Asian economies, in large part because virus lockdowns, port congestion and higher input costs hampered production. There were also signs that global demand for some Asian goods has been leveling off, as consumers rein in spending in the West.

Following a revelation that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) incurred a N9 billion deficit in three years as a result of market meltdown by the Director-General, Alhaji Lamido Yuguda, the Senate has raised the alarm over imminent insolvency, if nothing was done to salvage the situation, the Nigerian Daily Post reported. Yuguda explained that the global economic meltdown occasioned by coronavirus has affected the fortunes of Securities and Exchange Commission.

The OPEC oil producers’ cartel and allied non-member countries led by Russia signed off Wednesday on gradually increasing production as the global economy and demand for fuel continue to recover from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Associated Press reported. The group fended off pressure from the U.S. to move faster in restoring production cuts made during the pandemic and potentially ease costs at the pump for American drivers. The group, known as OPEC+, agreed at an online meeting to stick with earlier plans to add back 400,000 barrels per day from Oct. 1.

The government of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is preparing its first full annual budget with a view to keeping up extra spending even with the economy rebounding faster than expected, Bloomberg News reported. Finance Minister Daniele Franco’s staff are working on a new fiscal law worth about 20 billion euros ($24 billion) to sustain measures supporting families and businesses during the pandemic, according to officials familiar with the matter who declined to be identified discussing confidential plans.

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador highlighted his campaign against government corruption and downplayed the work that remains to be done in the areas of security and reducing poverty in his third state of the nation address on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Nearly midway through his six-year term, López Obrador remains popular despite stubbornly high levels of violence and rising inflation in an economy emerging from recession. “The money that was stolen before now gets to those on the bottom,” the 67-year-old leader said.

China will set up a new stock exchange in Beijing to provide financing for innovative smaller companies, President Xi Jinping said, as Beijing tries to increase the role of equity financing in its financial system, Bloomberg News reported.

Centerra Gold Inc. is claiming a Kyrgyz open-pit mine it once ran has flooded and poses safety and environmental risks, although the government-appointed administrator says the water has always been there, Bloomberg News reported. There may be at least 40 meters (131 feet) of water at the bottom of the Kumtor central pit, the Canadian mining company said on Tuesday in a statement, citing photos on Kumtor Gold Co.’s website and a company video posted mid August on Facebook.

Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle, which exited bankruptcy protection in May, reported on Tuesday an improvement in its first-half earnings as the beleaguered travel sector picks up speed amid rising vaccinations, the Times of Malta reported. In the first six months of the year, Norwegian posted a net profit of 1.6 billion kroner (€155 million) thanks to financial restructuring, compared to a loss of 5.4 billion kroner in the first half of 2020.

India is set to absolve bidders for its loss-making flag carrier from any liability arising out of a lawsuit filed by Cairn Energy Plc, which has claimed the state-run airline’s assets over a long-running tax dispute with the government, Bloomberg News reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will offer so-called indemnity to the financial bidders of Air India Ltd., which the government has repeatedly tried to sell without success.

The Financial Reporting Council has issued a formal complaint against KPMG and several of its current and former employees for allegedly providing “false and misleading information” relating to its audits of the outsourcing firms Carillion and Regenersis, The Guardian reported. The accounting watchdog’s allegations of misconduct relate to documents provided to the FRC during its inspection of audits carried out on Carillion in 2016 and Regenersis in 2014.