Headlines

Fears of a lengthy slowdown in eurozone growth intensified on Wednesday after an influential poll of sentiment fell to its lowest level in more than two years. The sharp decline in the purchasing managers’ index reflected signs that the global trade war is having broad repercussions on the economy of the world’s largest trading bloc. The index reading for the single currency area fell to 52.7 in October, down from 54.1 in September, and the lowest figure for 25 months.

South Korean has announced a fresh set of measures to boost economic growth and create jobs by offering financial support for smaller companies and a fuel tax cut to spur consumption. The latest measures come as the administration of President Moon Jae-in comes under growing pressure to revitalise a stalled economy and weak jobs market, the Financial Times reported.

The European Commission has rejected Italy’s draft budget. Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission’s vice-president responsible for the euro, said this week that Rome’s arguments for increasing its fiscal deficit were “not convincing,” the Financial Times reported. The Italians had been warned. But the Five Star/League coalition government nevertheless decided to pursue a fiscal expansion instead of the adjustment prescribed by European rules.

The funding squeeze for China’s private enterprise is expected to persist, despite recent measures aimed at easing financing difficulties, adding further pressure on the beleaguered stock market, Bloomberg News reported. Non-state companies have borne the burden of the government’s two-year deleveraging campaign, as the closing down of funding channels boosted the cost of borrowing and sent defaults to a record high.

Two former executives of collapsed oil firm Afren were convicted on Wednesday of fraud and money laundering offences relating to a $300 million business deal, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said, Reuters reported. Former Afren Chief Executive Osman Shahenshah and former Chief Operating Officer Shahid Ullah received more than $17 million and laundered $45 million, some of which was used to buy luxury properties in Mustique and the British Virgin Islands, it said here.

After multiple turnaround plans and promises to restore growth, Deutsche Bank AG investors are no longer buying the talk, Bloomberg News reported. The German lender -- already the worst-performing major bank stock in Europe this year -- closed at a record low on Wednesday after Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing conceded that cuts to the investment bank are having a deeper impact than expected. The continued bleeding, despite a decade-long bull market, is fueling speculation the bank may need to be merged before the next crisis hits.

The National Treasury allocated 5 billion rand ($350 million) to help South African Airways to repay debt, but said the state-owned airline will have to engage with creditors to restructure almost double that amount, Bloomberg News reported. SAA has 14.2 billion rand of repayments due by March, the Treasury said in its mid-term budget statement Wednesday. The company “is not generating sufficient cash to repay its total debt, and will have to negotiate with lenders to refinance or extend maturity dates,’’ it said.

UK Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) filed for a form of bankruptcy protection on Wednesday after running up millions of pounds of losses, the latest British retail name to fall victim of weak consumer spending and high costs, Reuters reported. The chain’s parent, South Africa’s Famous Brands, said the board of GBK had initiated a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) for the business that would allow it to avoid insolvency or administration and ensure its continued existence.

Brussels has rejected Italy’s draft budget in an unprecedented move that threatens to deepen rifts between the European Commission and the populist government in Rome, the Financial Times reported. Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission’s vice-president responsible for the euro, said Brussels had “no alternative” but to demand changes, after Rome defied warnings that its plans for a wider deficit would smash EU fiscal rules and flout the country’s previous commitments. The move is the first time Brussels has refused to endorse an EU member state’s draft budget.

The chief executive of oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Tuesday that bankers had not expressed any concerns about a recent rise in Saudi funding costs ahead of the company’s potential acquisition of a stake in petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), Reuters reported. The cost of insuring against a Saudi sovereign default over the next five years touched 100 basis points last week for the first time since June, in a sign of how deeply the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has damaged sentiment toward the kingdom.