Headlines

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai has admitted the Prudent ARC’s application to initiate personal insolvency resolution proceedings against Mahesh R Shetty, promoter of the listed coaching firm MT Educare, formerly known as Mahesh Tutorials, for a Rs 16.64 crore default by the company. Shetty was a personal guarantor against these loans, the Economic Times of India reported. The tribunal has also directed the resolution professional Santanu T. Ray to issue a public notice to invite claims from all creditors.

Chinese electric-vehicle makers, increasingly a global force, have been bracing for months for the prospect of hefty tariffs in Europe, one of their most promising markets. When that day arrived on Wednesday, many were prepared, the Wall Street Journal reported. Some have already started building factories on the continent, while others have set up joint ventures with companies in the bloc.

Taiwan’s central bank held interest rates steady as cooling inflation and solid economic growth give it space to keep policy settings unchanged for now, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) kept its benchmark discount rate at 2.000% on Thursday, as expected in a poll of seven analysts by The Wall Street Journal. It maintained its secured loan rate and unsecured loan rate at 2.375% and 4.250%, respectively. The Taiwanese central bank attributed the decision to cooling inflation and a solid outlook on its economy.

The euro zone’s underlying consumer price growth is proving stubborn, according to European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel, Bloomberg News reported. Speaking at the International Economic Forum of the Americas, the Bundesbank president reiterated that he and his colleagues won’t simply lower borrowing costs automatically, but rather judge conditions at each meeting as it comes. “It’s true that core inflation is still very sticky,” Nagel said Wednesday in Montreal, Canada, while acknowledging that it was right to ease policy last week.

Atos shares lost more of their value in early trading, adding to losses already reported this week as the French IT firm works on implementing its financial rescue, the Wall Street Journal reported. At 0743 GMT shares traded 5% lower at EUR0.73. The shares have lost around 37% of their value this week alone and are now down around 95% from a year ago.

President Javier Milei will meet face-to-face with the head of the International Monetary Fund in Italy this week, with Argentina claiming it has cleared a key hurdle as it seeks fresh funds to eventually lift capital controls, Bloomberg News reported. The libertarian leader’s talks Friday with Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit will take place a day after the Fund’s executive board votes on its latest review of the crisis-prone South American nation’s $43 billion program.

Mexico’s central bank opened the door to intervening in the peso, an acknowledgment of the turmoil roiling the market after a post-election rout sent the currency tumbling to a 15-month low, Bloomberg News reported. Banco de Mexico Governor Victoria Rodriguez told reporters Wednesday that there are tools available to restore market order, if needed. She blamed the volatility mostly on external factors, and insisted policymakers aren’t trying to defend a specific level for the currency.

Zambia has finally ended nearly four years of default on its dollar bonds, issuing two series of restructured notes that were the product of intense negotiations, Bloomberg News reported. The southern Africa nation became the first in Africa to renege on its obligations during the pandemic in November 2020, setting the stage for what would become a complex restructuring fraught with setbacks.

Australia’s unemployment rate fell slightly in May, in line with a seasonal shift in the job market that saw more people starting work, the Wall Street Journal reported. Employment rose by 39,700 in the month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday, beating the expected rise of around 30,000. Economists consider the job market a point of resilience in the Australian economy, which otherwise continues to slow quickly due to the weight of elevated interest rates and rising costs. The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.0% in May from April, the ABS said.

Struggling Swedish landlord SBB is preparing to lay the groundwork for an initial public offering of its entire residential portfolio by shifting bond debt from the parent level down into Sveafastigheter AB, Bloomberg News reported. Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB — as the company is formally known — is inviting existing bondholders to exchange their notes for a new issue sold by the residential unit totaling no more than 2.5 billion Swedish kronor ($240 million), according to a statement on Thursday.