Headlines

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation, telling the nation that “internal battles” mean he “cannot be the best option” in the next election, the Associated Press reported. Trudeau said Monday he has asked the president of his Liberal Party to begin the process to select a new leader. He has faced rising discontent over his leadership, and the abrupt departure of his finance minister late last year signaled growing turmoil within his government. Parliament will be suspended until March 24. It had been due to resume Jan. 27.

German inflation accelerated more than anticipated last month, backing the European Central Bank’s plans to keep cutting interest rates only gradually, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 2.9% from a year ago in December, up from 2.4% in the previous month. The acceleration was driven by energy and food costs, the statistics office said. German short-term yields pushed higher after the release. The yield on two-year debt was up four basis points at 2.2%, while traders trimmed ECB rate-cut bets slightly.

UK long-term borrowing costs are nearing the highest levels in more than a quarter of a century as traders brace for a raft of bond sales this week, Bloomberg News reported. The yield on 30-year gilts rose as much as four basis points to 5.19%, nearing the 5.21% high seen in 2023. US Treasuries are also feeling the heat of impending bond sales, with the equivalent yield earlier rising to a 14-month high as investors prepare for three-, 10- and 30-year securities this week.

China reaffirmed its support for the yuan after allowing the currency to slip below a key support level in the last session, Bloomberg News reported. The People’s Bank of China set its daily reference rate stronger than the closely watched line of 7.2 per dollar. That helped ease concern that Beijing will allow a sharper depreciation, after the onshore yuan slid past 7.3 per dollar due to mounting economic pressures and a widening yield gap with the U.S.

Japan's service activity expanded for a second straight month in December, buoyed by solid demand and business expansion, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, Reuters reported. The final au Jibun Bank Service purchasing managers' index (PMI) grew to 50.9 in December from 50.5 in November, according to the survey compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. It was lower than a flash reading of 51.4 but stayed above the 50.0 threshold separating expansion from contraction for a second straight month.

A private gauge of China’s service activity expanded at a faster clip at the end of 2024 as Beijing moved to boost domestic demand, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Caixin services purchasing managers index rose to 52.2 in December from 51.5 in November, Caixin Media Co. and S&P Global said Monday. The index has remained above the 50 mark separating contraction from expansion for two years, Caixin said. Both business activity and total new orders increased last month.

When Jeju Air’s status as South Korea’s biggest low-cost carrier seemed under threat from the merger of the country’s two biggest airlines last year, the company’s chief executive assured employees that it would “actively respond,” possibly by acquiring smaller rivals. Now, a week after a crash that killed 179 people on Dec. 29, Jeju Air’s future is clouded by even deeper questions, the New York Times reported.

Brazil's government said on Friday it has reached deals with two of the country's largest airlines, Gol and Azul, to settle some pending tax obligations totaling 7.5 billion reais ($1.22 billion), Reuters reported. The government has provided the carriers with significant discounts and allowed them to make installment payments. The deal may provide financial relief to the companies. Latin American airlines have been facing financial hurdles in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and were forced to restructure obligations as they struggle with high debt loads.

Cobalt miner Jervois Global said on Thursday that one of its lenders will take the company private as part of a pre-packaged bankruptcy, the latest Western miner scrambling to survive as competition from China intensifies, Reuters reported. U.S. fund manager Millstreet Capital Management will take control of Jervois as part of the pre-packaged chapter 11 filing, inject $145 million into the company and convert more than $100 million of loans into equity.

For all its focus on the newest anime and latest electronics, Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood also has a lot of local history. Sadly, a tasty piece of that history is disappearing, with the news that an Akihabara curry restaurant that’s been in business for 50 years will be filing for bankruptcy, Japan Today reported. Bengal was officially founded in 1973 and started serving customers at its Akihabara curry restaurant in 1974, while also operating as a spice wholesaler.