Headlines

Thai Airways International Pcl will receive key financial support from the government for its 80 billion baht (US$2.3 billion) capital raising and debt-to-equity swap plan aimed at helping the state-controlled carrier come out of its pandemic-induced bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. State-owned banks will lead in funding new loans, converting debt and injecting equity capital into Thai Air as part of a revised revamp plan the airline gave the court for approval last month, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday.

Mexican leasing firm Unifin will miss capital and interest payments on its debt because of limited sources of financing, the company said in a filing to Mexico's main stock exchange, Reuters reported. The decision is effective immediately "and through the period necessary to negotiate definitive agreements with (Unifin's) shareholders in relation to a strategic restructuring," it said in the filing late on Monday. Unifin shares plummeted in early trading on Tuesday, falling more than 65% to an historic low.

Ukraine has formally requested new assistance from the International Monetary Fund, seeking funds to help weather a severe wartime recession and a large cash shortfall, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The government submitted a proposal for an IMF program on Friday, it said. Ukraine added that it expects to receive help by November or December but didn’t say how much it is requesting.

China's top auditor is conducting a review of the U.S. $3 trillion trust industry, paving the way for a potential overhaul of a key shadow banking sector where losses on property loans are mounting, Bloomberg News reported. In an unscheduled move, the National Audit Office - which previously led an examination of bank exposures to Mr. Jack Ma's Ant Group - has for the past month been inspecting the books of at least 20 trust firms, including the top five, to gauge the risks they pose to financial stability.

Germany's economy will lose more than 260 billion euros ($265 billion) in added value by 2030 due to the Ukraine war and high energy prices, spelling negative effects for the labour market, according to a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Reuters reported. In comparison with expectations for a peaceful Europe, Germany's price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) will be 1.7% lower next year and there will be about 240,000 fewer people in employment, said the study published on Tuesday.

The Bank of England will probably have to raise interest rates further from their current 14 year-high to tackle inflation pressures that are gaining a foothold in Britain's economy, BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said, Reuters reported. Inflation's spread was now showing up in rising British pay and companies' pricing plans, having originally been triggered by the reopening of the world economy from COVID-19 lockdowns and then by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ramsden told Reuters.

Mexico’s inflation accelerated broadly in line with analysts’ estimates in July to the fastest pace since early 2001, as the central bank is seen delivering a second straight 75 basis-point increase to its key interest rate this week, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 8.15% last month compared to a year earlier, slightly faster than the 8.14% median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, the national statistics institute reported Tuesday. On a monthly basis, inflation slowed to 0.74% from 0.84% in July, versus economists’ median estimate of 0.73%.

Brazil's consumer prices decreased more than expected in July, the country's statistics agency said on Tuesday, with the steepest drop ever on the benchmark IPCA index off the back of a string of anti-inflation measures by the government and central bank, Reuters reported. Prices in Latin America's largest economy fell by 0.68% last month, the IBGE statistics agency said. It was the lowest rate recorded since inflation measurements began in January 1980, IBGE said.

Chile’s inflation hit a new 28-year high in July as food and transportation prices surged and the peso plunged to an all-time low, boosting pressure on the central bank to extend its aggressive interest rate hikes, Bloomberg News reported. Prices rose 13.1% from a year prior, more than the 13% median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey. Monthly inflation stood at 1.4%, the national statistics institute reported on Monday. Chile’s annual inflation rate has risen for 17 consecutive months amid several back-to-back shocks.

Several countries in Europe dependent on Russian energy suffered another with confirmation Tuesday that oil shipments have stopped through a critical pipeline, the Associated Press reported. Russian state pipeline operator Transneft said it halted shipments through the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which flows through Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Transneft cited complications due to European Union sanctions for its action on Aug. 4, saying its payment to the company’s Ukrainian counterpart was refused.