Headlines

Brazil looks set to break a key fiscal rule to provide another round of financial aid to the poor as lawmakers pile pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro to act fast during a second wave of Covid-19, Bloomberg News reported. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has tried to protect the so-called spending cap rule by proposing an emergency constitutional amendment that would allow the government to reduce mandatory spending in other areas -- a process that would require lengthy negotiations with congress.

Seoul’s public transportation operators are in serious financial trouble as the number of bus and subway users sharply dropped last year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Korea Herald reported. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that 1.45 billion passengers used regular city and local “maeul” buses last year, down 23.6 percent from 1.95 billion a year earlier. The number of airport bus users dropped 85.4 percent on-year to 2.12 million passengers.

Britain’s government has risked creating a legion of ‘zombie’ companies by encouraging banks to lend 45 billion pounds ($62 billion) to small businesses with a 100% state guarantee during the COVID pandemic, a leading think tank warned on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The Resolution Foundation said most of the support given by the government to businesses and workers was useful and more would be needed when finance minister Rishi Sunak sets out his 2020/21 budget on March 3.

Businesses say they’re barely coping with the current pared-down regime of Brexit checks on goods shipments to Northern Ireland and want to delay fuller checks due to kick in on April 1, Politico reported. Executives from ports, haulage, logistics and customs clearance firms issued their plea on the eve of Thursday’s meeting between European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and U.K. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove in London.

Investors are starting to worry that the Riksbank’s purchases of covered bonds are fanning a housing market that’s already red hot, Bloomberg News reported. Owen Winrow, who helps manage 195 billion kronor ($24 billion) at Afa Forsakring, says his concern is that “with a housing market on fire,” the Riksbank “might be playing a dangerous game.” Winrow also notes that the Riksbank has probably reached the limit of what it can do with its quantitative easing program for government bonds, “so there isn’t too much choice, I guess, than buying covered” bonds, he said.

Poland’s central bank moved to resolve the biggest threat to the country’s financial industry, offering commercial lenders help in converting $30 billion of Swiss-franc loans into zloty, Bloomberg News reported. The banks asked the monetary authority to step in after a multitude of lawsuits over the loans forced them into mounting provisions. But the stiff conditions attached to aid, which include halting dividends and shoring up capital, are already facing a pushback from the industry, meaning the deal may take time to hash out.

Two Crown Resorts Ltd directors with links to major shareholder James Packer resigned on Wednesday, the first heads to roll after the Australian casino operator was deemed unfit to hold a gambling licence for its new Sydney casino, Reuters reported. The upheaval in the wake of a report commissioned by the state gambling watchdog raised speculation among analysts that the A$6.6 billion ($5.1 billion) company was in play as a takeover target.

Italian chain Prezzo will permanently close 22 restaurants after being bought out of pre-pack administration by private equity firm Cain International, CityAM.com reported. As a result of the deal, 22 of the high street stalwart’s 178 restaurants will not reopen. Cain said that 216 of its 2,900 jobs would be lost. The deal came after Prezzo was forced to go into administration after failing to reach agreement with landlords on rent payments.

Pakistan plans to ask China for relief on payments for power projects Beijing financed over the past eight years, the latest developing nation that’s struggling to repay debt under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, Bloomberg News reported. In informal talks, Pakistan and China have discussed easing terms on the repayment of debt on about a dozen power plants. The parties have canvassed Beijing’s willingness to stagger debt payments, as opposed to lowering equity returns.

Embattled Bangkok-based carrier Thai Airways is to lay off 395 pilots as part of its restructuring and rehabilitation plan, Simple Flying reported. It follows Thai Airways Acting President Chansin Treenuchagron last month saying the airline’s reorganization was on track and progressing well. This round of retrenchment means Thai Airways will now employ less than 1,000 pilots. It’s another hiccup in a litany of problems facing Thai Airways as it struggles to avoid disappearing off the aviation map. The airline first sought bankruptcy protection in May 2020.