Headlines

The European Union recommended Monday that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infections there, the Associated Press reported. The decision by the European Council to remove the U.S. from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel reverses advice that it gave in June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on U.S. travelers before the summer tourism season. The guidance is nonbinding, however, and U.S. travelers should expect a mishmash of travel rules across the continent.

A global financial crimes watchdog urged Japan on Monday to improve cooperation between different government agencies as part of efforts to combat money-laundering and the financing of terrorism, Reuters reported. Responding to the report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Japan's finance ministry announced a three-year action plan that will include an anti-money laundering inter-agency task force and tighter supervision of financial institutions.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said policy makers should take into account more favorable financing conditions in the region when they decide on the pace of emergency bond-buying next week, hinting a slowdown may be in the cards, Bloomberg News reported. Any changes in the program dubbed PEPP would not amount to tapering like that announced by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, according to Villeroy, who is also the governor of the Bank of France.

A labor union representing German train drivers said Monday that its members will launch a third strike this week in an escalating pay dispute with the country’s biggest rail company, the Associated Press reported. The GDL union said freight train drivers will walk out on Wednesday evening, followed by passenger train drivers early Thursday. The strike is due to last until 2 a.m. on Sept. 7, making it the longest in the current round of labor negotiations.

Nigeria will work with Bitt Inc as a technical partner in its bid to launch its own cryptocurrency, the "eNaira", the Central Bank said on Monday, Reuters reported. The Central Bank announced plans to launch its own digital currency later this year after Nigeria barred banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in cryptocurrencies in February. Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele has said the eNaira would operate as a wallet against which customers can hold existing funds in their bank account.

Too big to fail or too tough to save? As China’s debt-laden No. 2 property developer lurched from one crisis to another in recent months its creditors, investors, suppliers, and bankers agonised over its fate with little hope on the horizon, Reuters reported. But industry watchers say clear signs are now emerging that authorities at various levels are stepping in to avoid a hard landing for China Evergrande Group, amid worries about the “social impact” of a possible collapse that could cascade through the country’s financial system.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has proposed major changes in the insolvency process to bring more discipline and transparency and to address issues that have come up in recent cases, the Times of India reported. The IBBI, which regulates both insolvency professionals and the process, has sought public views on amendments by September 17. A key development is the introduction of a code of conduct for the committee of creditors (CoC) proposed by a parliamentary standing committee headed by Jayant Sinha.

Japan's retail sales rose for a fifth straight month in July, beating expectations as the consumer sector continued its recovery, although a coronavirus resurgence has cast doubts over the spending outlook, Reuters reported. A surge in Delta variant cases this month forced the government to widen state of emergency restrictions, which are now threatening to hurt consumer spending and derail a fragile economic recovery.

China is framing rules to ban internet companies whose data poses potential security risks from listing outside the country, including in the United States, Reuters reported. The ban is also expected to be imposed on companies involved in ideology issues. Beijing said last month that it planned to strengthen supervision of all firms listed offshore, a sweeping regulatory shift that came after a cybersecurity investigation into ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. just days after its U.S. listing.

Malaysian Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who retained the post in the new government announced Friday by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, has his work cut out for him, Bloomberg News reported. In October, Zafrul is set to unveil the 2022 federal budget to what may be the most divided parliament in Malaysia’s history. The spending plan will need to address an economy weakened by protracted lockdowns and a raging Covid outbreak, amid steep financial constraints and a deficit target that was already revised higher twice this year.