Headlines

Deng Xiaoping, the former Communist leader credited with opening China’s economy to the world, described his approach to reforms as “crossing the river by feeling the stones.” That philosophy continues to influence policy makers in Beijing as they gradually open the nation’s bond market to foreign investors, Bloomberg News reported. The liberalization has potential to be the biggest of its kind and significantly impact the flow of international capital.

When Juan Velayos left his job at the accountancy firm PwC to become chief executive of Spanish housebuilder Neinor Homes two years ago, some people thought he was crazy. Construction companies in Spain once built more residential homes every year than the rest of western Europe combined, fuelled by cheap debt. But a 35 per cent slump in prices after the 2007 financial crisis left much of the sector bankrupt, the Financial Times reported.

If only investors in shipping had the equivalent of a mariner’s tide tables. They can see where the low water mark in share prices lies, but must divine for themselves how high the waters might now rise. In this particular cycle, the ebb lasted a long time after container lines ordered too many ships and then struggled to fill them. The low point was probably last autumn, when Korean line Hanjin filed for bankruptcy, the Financial Times reported. The market has improved markedly since then. Industry volume growth is expected to hit 5 per cent this year, from 3.8 last year.

Volkswagen will recall 4.86m vehicles sold in China over airbag problems, marking the latest blow for the German carmaker that has suffered numerous quality and distribution issues in the Asian country this year. VW will recall vehicles equipped with airbags manufactured by the now-bankrupt Japanese automotive parts maker Takata, according to a notice posted by China’s consumer inspection bureau, the Financial Times reported. The recall will apply to both imported and Chinese-made vehicles sold as early as 2005 and take effect in March 2018.

Shares in Reliance Communications fell as much as 2.3 percent in early trading on Thursday, a day after the Indian arm of Ericsson filed a petition seeking to drag the debt-laden telecom firm into insolvency due to unpaid dues, Reuters reported. The Swedish telecoms equipment maker, which signed a seven-year deal in 2014 to operate and manage Reliance Communications’ nationwide network, is seeking a total of 11.55 billion rupees ($180 million) from the company and two of its subsidiaries. Reliance Communications, widely known as RCom, reported its third quarterly loss in a row last month.

The man behind the Dyson vacuum cleaner expects the U.K. not to strike a Brexit deal with the European Union. While many consider that a worst-case scenario, James Dyson says those trade conditions “frankly are going to hurt the Europeans more than the British.” Dyson was an ardent backer of the Leave campaign last year and doesn’t see a problem with the U.K. defaulting to World Trade Organization rules when it leaves the bloc in March 2019, Bloomberg News reported. The Malmesbury, England-based Dyson Ltd.

A new vehicle linked to Lars Windhorst has raised a €500m bond intended to help the flamboyant German financier settle outstanding lawsuits and repay existing debts, as he tries to keep his heavily indebted business empire afloat, the Financial Times reported. Over the past 18 months Mr Windhorst has been engaged in legal battles involving at least €220m with several investors — including Ukrainian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik — over amounts owed under financing agreements in his complex web of funding vehicles.

Cement is not the easiest product to export. But at the height of the eurozone crisis, with Portugal’s construction industry paralysed, its cement makers had no choice. Supported by a weak euro, they ploughed their efforts into selling abroad — so much so that their exports soared from close to nothing to more than 60 per cent of production, the Financial Times reported. “In a very short time and by an enormous effort of cost-cutting and commercial prospecting, we had to remake ourselves as exporters,” said Gonçalo Salazar Leite, head of Portugal’s cement industry association.

France’s finance minister has called for new tools to bolster the “prosperity” and “stability” of the eurozone to prevent it being swept away in a populist backlash. Bruno Le Maire said the 19 members of the single currency had to seize a two-year window before the next European parliamentary elections to silence the euro’s opponents by embracing deeper fiscal integration and boosting investment throughout the bloc, the Financial Times reported.

Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda will table an offer for parts of insolvent airline Air Berlin together with Thomas Cook’s German carrier Condor, Lauda told Austrian newspaper Kurier on Wednesday. Lauda holds 51 percent of the consortium which will bid for 21 Airbus A320 and A321 planes of Air Berlin’s subsidiary Niki - formerly owned by Lauda - as well as 17 additional aircraft flying under the Air Berlin banner, according to Kurier’s online edition.