Headlines

The Schoeller Group is in exclusive talks to buy Signa’s Upper West tower in Berlin, according to people familiar with the matter, in one of the most closely watched property transactions in Germany, Bloomberg News reported. The industrialist family’s investment office has been picked for exclusive negotiations after several rounds of bids for the building that is part of Austrian tycoon Rene Benko’s defunct empire. The insolvency administrator of Signa Prime Selection AG had been nearing a deal to sell the property for more than €400 million ($432 million), Bloomberg previously reported.

Grupo Aeromexico SAB sold $1.1 billion of bonds via international markets Monday that the air carrier will use to refinance debt due in the coming years, Bloomberg News reported. Aeromexico issued $500 million of five-year notes and $610 million of seven-year securities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Proceeds will be used in part to pay down $663 million in senior secured notes due in 2027, the company said in a statement. The 2029 notes priced to yield 8.25%, while the 2031 bonds yielded 8.625%, tighter than initial guidance. Barclays was the sole bookrunner for the deal.

China is considering approving next week the issuance of over 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in extra debt in the next few years to revive its fragile economy, Reuters reported. China's top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), is looking to approve the fresh fiscal package, including 6 trillion yuan which would partly be raised via special sovereign bonds, on the last day of a meeting to be held from Nov. 4-8.

Thai authorities reached a tentative agreement to keep the inflation target at 1% to 3% for next year, with the Finance Ministry pressing the central bank to take steps to spur price gains and growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. The price goal, in place since 2020, could be retained in 2025 provided the Bank of Thailand comes up with policies to push up inflation to 2%, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters after a two-hour meeting with central bank Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput on Tuesday.

Japan’s labor market tightened in September, indicating sustained pressure on companies to raise wages ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting this week, Bloomberg News reported. The job-to-applicant ratio edged up to 1.24 from 1.23 in August, meaning that there were 124 jobs offered for every 100 applicants, the labor ministry reported Tuesday. Economists had forecast no change from 1.23. A separate report from the ministry of internal affairs showed that the jobless rate decreased to 2.4% in September, falling to the lowest since January.

Namibia’s central bank unveiled a policy to provide financial relief to the country’s drought-hit farming industry, Bloomberg News reported. The plan, which took effect Oct. 23, mandates lenders to offer loan restructuring, debt moratoriums, and emergency funding with preferential terms, the Bank of Namibia said in a emailed statement on Monday. The measures will help ease the financial burden on clients while helping to stabilize the agricultural industry, it said. Farmers and agricultural businesses that can demonstrate significant drought-related losses will be eligible for relief.

Gloucestershire Constabulary finance chiefs have dismissed fears they could go bust '"like Birmingham City Council" amid concerns over funding, BBC.com reported. The force said that it would not face bankruptcy as concerns grew over plans for a stark rise in debt, a recruitment freeze and a "blip" in officer leaving. According to a report by Peter Robinson, the Office for Police and Crime Commissioner's (OPCC) interim chief finance officer, the force needed to find cumulative budget savings of £7m next year, with an increase year on year.

Volkswagen AG’s truckmaking brand Scania plans to equip all its future electric trucks with Northvolt batteries, in a vote of confidence for the cash-strapped Swedish battery maker as it works to seal up a rescue package, Bloomberg News reported. “We are now shifting over. For the future, all of our currently sold battery electric vehicles will come with Northvolt cells,” Scania Chief Executive Officer Christian Levin said in a call with reporters on Monday. The volumes Northvolt is currently supplying to Scania are “satisfactory to us given the total market right now,” Levin said.

Azul SA’s shares jumped after the Brazilian airline inked an agreement with its bondholders, allowing a crucial deal to move forward with its lessors and parts suppliers that reduces the airline’s debt and boosts its cash position, Bloomberg News reported. The deal allows for existing creditors to provide as much as $500 million in new senior secured debt, with $150 million to be provided this week and $250 million by the end of the year, according to a regulatory filing Monday. Another $100 million could be unlocked at a later date, Azul said.