Headlines

Liquidators of companies linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal have filed for chapter 15 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, as they look to recover assets, Bloomberg News reported. A petition listing 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, Platinum Global Luxury Services Ltd, Aabar International Investments PJS Ltd, Blackrock Commodities (Global) Ltd, and Alsen Chance Holdings Ltd - all registered in the British Virgin Islands - was submitted in the Southern District of Florida court, dated Feb. 15.

China cut the benchmark reference rate for mortgages at a monthly fixing on Tuesday by more than expected, as authorities ramped up efforts to stimulate credit demand and revive the property market, Reuters reported. Commercial banks' improving net interest margins following recent deposit rate cuts and the reduction to bank reserves earlier this month has paved the way for lenders to reduce borrowing costs to support the economy. The five-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.90% from 4.20% previously, while the one-year LPR was left unchanged at 3.45%.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin asked the central bank to urgently hold an unscheduled meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee to cut interest rate, saying the latest data indicated that the nation’s economy was in a crisis, Bloomberg News reported. “I would like to implore the MPC to urgently call a committee meeting to consider reducing interest without waiting for a scheduled meeting,” Srettha posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, late on Monday.

Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill said on Friday that so far he had seen only "quite modest and tentative evidence" that inflation would fall back to and stay at the central bank's 2% target, due to strong underlying domestic price pressures, Reuters reported. "I do think that we will have to wait several more months before we can be convinced that the squeezing out of the persistent component of inflation is there," Pill said at a panel discussion hosted by the United States' National Association for Business Economics.

British retail sales jumped by the most in almost three years in January as consumers recovered their appetite for spending, suggesting the economy could emerge quickly from its recession in the second half of last year, Reuters reported. Sales volumes increased by 3.4% from December, much stronger than the median forecast of a 1.5% increase in a Reuters poll of economists. anuary's jump was the biggest since April 2021 and followed a 3.3% fall in December.

Niger missed debt payments of $24.2 million on its domestic bonds in the past week as sanctions after a 2023 coup blocked its access to the regional capital market, Bloomberg News reported. The government missed a 13.4 billion CFA franc ($22 million) principal payment on a one-year bond that matured Feb. 16, the regional market for government securities, UMOA-Titres said in a statement. The West African nation also missed interest payments of 1.07 billion franc and 284 million franc on two seven-year notes due 2027 and 2030 respectively, it said.

Honduras' CNBS regulator has banned the Central American country's financial system from trading in cryptocurrency and similar virtual assets, it said in a resolution, citing risks of fraud and money laundering, Reuters reported.

A unit of Israel Shipyards Industries is among the potential bidders for Croatian shipbuilder Uljanik Brodogradnja 1856, Jutarnji List reported, citing Eytan Zucker, chief executive officer of the Haifa-based company, Bloomberg News reported. An auction for Uljanik is expected on March 4, following previous, failed attempts to divest the debt-laden company, according to the Zagreb-based newspaper. Other potential bidders include Slovenia’s Eko Bor, Croatia-registered Adria Mont, Romania’s GSP Offshore, Italy’s Micoperi based in Ravenna, and La Maison from Cyprus.

Brazil´s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras has no plans to lower jet fuel prices as part of a wider effort to rescue struggling Brazilian airlines, Bloomberg News reported. The Rio de Janeiro-based producer can’t just lower prices when the government tells it to, Chief Executive Officer Jean Paul Prates told Bloomberg News during a recent trip to India, reiterating his opposition to such a move. Prates added that “abnormal” airfare costs continued in 2023 even while jet fuel prices fell.

Paraguay’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate Monday for the seventh time since August as inflation remains below 4% after a post-pandemic surge, Bloomberg News reported. The monetary authority lowered its key rate to 6.25% from 6.5%, continuing an easing cycle that began after borrowing costs peaked at 8.5%, according to a statement published Monday. Consumer prices increases, once in double-digit territory after the pandemic, have consistently cooled with the latest data showing annual inflation at 3.4% in January.