Headlines

Britain’s aviation authority said it would take action to force Ryanair to pay compensation to customers affected by strikes held by its staff this summer, The Irish Times reported. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement on Wednesday that the strikes were not exempt from EU rules on compensation and it had started enforcement action against the airline. Ryanair has suffered a number of strikes this year by cabin crew and pilots, forcing it to cancel hundreds of flights, after the airline recognised unions for the first time in 2017.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating, citing political upheaval that has resulted in the country having no functional government, the International New York Times reported on an Associated Press story. Fitch says it lowered the country's rating to B from B plus with a stable outlook, reflecting heightened external financing risks, uncertain policy outlook and a slowdown in fiscal consolidation.

Canada kept interest rates on hold on Wednesday, as a recent spate of disappointing economic readings and the renewed sell-off in crude prompted policymakers to take a more cautious stance, the Financial Times reported. The Bank of Canada held its benchmark rate steady at a 10-year high of 1.75 per cent, as widely expected. However the Canadian dollar slumped to trade 1 per cent lower at C$1.3397 per dollar — the lowest since June 2017 — as policymakers warned that the economy could be heading for a slowdown in the fourth quarter.

A representative of a mysterious Chinese oil company was convicted Wednesday on charges that he tried to bribe government leaders in Africa in a case that put foreign officials on the stand to discuss deals, some of which were hatched in the hallways at the United Nations, the International New York Times reported. The federal trial of Patrick Ho put a spotlight on the methods that a once fast-growing oil company, CEFC China, used to expand its reach from Asia to Africa, Europe and the United States. Mr.

Italy’s prime minister has signalled he would be willing to modify his government’s budget plan in response to criticism from Brussels but only if the expensive welfare policies it contains remain intact, the Financial Times reported. Giuseppe Conte said minor amendments could be made to Rome’s populist coalition government’s budget to avoid Italy being sanctioned by the European Commission. “Right now if I am able to recover some funds, tweak the final figure, change a few things it doesn’t mean that I am backtracking,” Mr Conte said in an interview with La Repubblica newspaper.

Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA plans to raise some $26.9 billion via asset sales and partnerships by 2023 while boosting investments on the front edge of an anticipated production boom in Brazil, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Petrobras intends to make $84.1 billion in investments from 2019 to 2023, above the $74.5 billion forecast in its 2018 to 2022 plan, it said in a five-year investment program unveiled on Wednesday morning.

Holders of more than $1bn of the bonds issued to finance a new Mexico City airport that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants to scrap have rejected an offer by the government to buy back some of the debt, the Financial Times reported. The bondholder group said it could not support the plan, which would also alter the terms of the remaining debt — bonds that currently have a claim on revenues from the new airport.

The euro area is showing no signs of a meaningful economic rebound, with Italy on the verge of recession after the populist government picked a fight with European authorities over spending plans. Momentum in the 19-nation region is at the weakest level in more than two years, and trade and political uncertainty are dragging confidence lower, Bloomberg News reported. Activity last month was weighed down by Italy, where the risks of a second quarterly contraction are rising.

Kenya is in talks with lenders to roll over a $760 mln syndicated loan this fiscal year and lengthen its maturity in order to make debt repayments more manageable, a senior Treasury official said on Tuesday. The loan, which was initially for two years, was arranged by TDB bank, said Kamau Thugge, the principal secretary at the ministry of finance, Reuters reported. The government aimed to increase the tenor of the loan to seven or 10 years, he said, adding that they had not yet struck an agreement with lenders whom he did not identify.

China will encourage “zombie” firms that still retain “business value” to restructure and woo strategic investors to cut debt to reasonable levels, the state planner said on Tuesday. As part of its efforts to curb soaring corporate debt and tackle price-sapping capacity gluts in sectors such as steel and coal, China has promised to improve bankruptcy procedures and allow vast numbers of loss-making “zombie” companies to close, Reuters reported.