Headlines

The majority of banks in Belgium held up well in a recent stress test regarding the guarantee of customer deposits if they went bankrupt. However, six banks failed to provide sufficient information to the Federal Government. A recent test conducted by the State Guarantee Fund (managed by the Ministry of Finance) assessed whether 29 different banks in Belgium were able to meet legal requirements in the event of a bankruptcy. All credit institutions which hold deposits in Belgium were tested, including Argenta, Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, CBC, Crelan, ING and KBC.

Euro-area inflation slowed below the European Central Bank’s 2% target for the first time since 2021 — backing investor bets that interest rates may be lowered more quickly than previously anticipated, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 1.8% from a year ago in September, down from 2.2% in the previous month as energy costs fell sharply, Eurostat said Tuesday. The reading matched a Bloomberg survey of analysts — as was core inflation, which eased to 2.7%.

Financial markets remain vulnerable to a sharp correction, the Bank of England warned Wednesday as a twice-yearly survey found that geopolitical developments are seen as the greatest threat to stability, the Wall Street Journal reported. The BOE’s Financial Policy Committe has repeatedly warned that valuations of many financial assets, particularly equities, are “stretched” and could fall sharply in response to economic or geopolitical shocks.

France plans around €60 billion ($66.4 billion) in spending cuts and tax hikes next year as Prime Minister Michel Barnier seeks to claw back a widening budget deficit and bolster investor confidence in the country, Bloomberg News reported. The savings are required to bring the budget shortfall to 5% of economic output from around 6.1% this year, government officials said in a briefing to journalists on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with internal rules.

Poland extended its period of interest-rate stability to one year after inflation picked up beyond the central bank’s tolerance range, Bloomberg News reported. The Monetary Policy Council kept its benchmark at 5.75% in line with the forecasts of all 35 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The decision comes after regional peers in the Czech Republic and Hungary both reduced rates and the Federal Reserve eased its monetary policy for the first time in four years with a half-point rate reduction.

Executives in Latin America’s largest economy are redrawing plans, reprofiling debt and holding back investment as interest rates climb and the currency remains under pressure, Bloomberg News reported. While companies the world over have been contending with higher borrowing costs, Brazilian firms have had an especially tough burden, hit with some of the steepest rates in the world after surviving the pandemic with little government aid. Now rates are going up again after a respite of just over a year.

India’s securities regulator introduced a slew of steps to limit equity derivatives trading, attempting to shield retail investors whose appetite for the products fueled their rise in the nation, Bloomberg News reported. The measures from the Securities and Exchange Board of India erect hurdles for short-term speculative bets, such as limiting index option contracts with weekly expiries, according to the details on its website released Tuesday.

More than 700 Swedish companies went bankrupt in September, with real estate companies among the hardest hit, according to data from credit reference agency Creditsafe, Bloomberg News reported. The 17% increase from last year is a sharp turn for the worse, following a 3% annual decrease in August. Property owners had another rough month, as bankruptcies in the sector more than doubled. While hopes have increased about an economic recovery in Sweden as the central bank has reduced borrowing costs, an uptick in sentiment has yet to translate into rising activity.

Thai Airways International Pcl plans to issue new shares worth at least 42 billion baht ($1.3 billion) to creditors and other investors by December, a major step toward exiting a court-monitored debt restructuring and resumption of trading in its shares, Bloomberg News reported. The carrier will offer about 6.81 billion new shares to creditors under a debt-to-equity swap, according to its regulatory filing Monday. These stocks are priced at 2.5452 baht each, valuing the offering at 17.3 billion baht, it said.

Cinema chain operator Cineworld's restructuring plan was approved by London's High Court on Monday, despite opposition from two landlords, Reuters reported. Cineworld, whose brands include Regal, Cinema City, Picturehouse and Planet, set out a plan in July to restore to profitability, including addressing its lease portfolio and rental terms with landlords in Britain. Like other operators, Cineworld, which operates in 10 countries with 9,189 screens, was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, when many movie releases were postponed or went directly to streaming platforms.