Headlines

As financial leaders gather this week to assess the health of the world economy, one of the central topics for discussion will be how ready markets are for a crisis in a large developing economy such as China, Turkey or Brazil, the International New York Times reported. At the center of this debate will be the question of whether the International Monetary Fund still has the ability to act effectively if — as some experts fear — emerging markets begin to crumble under the weight of heavy debt.

German exports posted their steepest decline in almost seven years in August, the clearest sign yet that economic weakness in emerging markets is forcing Europe’s export champion away from its longtime reliance on foreign trade, The Wall Street Journal reported. The data will be welcome in the U.S. and at organizations such as the International Monetary Fund that have long lobbied for Europe’s largest economy to reduce its mammoth trade surplus and rely more on domestic growth as a way to help boost surrounding economies in the eurozone.

AIB will be in a position to repay a “very sizeable chunk” of capital to the State in the “not too distant future”, its chief executive Bernard Byrne told the annual dinner of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night, the Irish Times reported. “The Minister for Finance [Michael Noonan] will determine when and how the bank will return more capital to the State through an initial public offering but you can be assured that we will be ready, when he makes that decision,” Mr Byrne said, citing the bank’s improved financial performance.

The chairman of an influential committee of British lawmakers has asked the country's financial regulator for assurance that a new banking tax will not damage competition within the industry, Reuters reported. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced plans to introduce an 8 percent surcharge on banks' profits above 25 million pounds from next year in his annual budget in July, but the move has been criticised by so-called challenger banks which say it will hit them disproportionately.

A health service provider that was turning over approximately $1.2 million has collapsed into voluntary administration, SmartCompany.com.au reported. Fitgenes was incorporated in 2009 and provides personalised health care using a patient’s genetic predispositions when it comes to fitness, health and nutrition. The Fitgenes Group operates a clinic in Perth and as of September 2014, was working with 350 clinics and more than 470 practitioners who use the company’s proprietary cloud-based software.

The 100-year-old steel maker once known as Stelco Inc. may become independent again after United States Steel Corp. gave up on trying to restructure the company it purchased in 2007, The Globe and Mail reported. U.S. Steel Canada Inc., possessing the youngest integrated steel mill in North America and an idle steel-making mill in Hamilton, would proceed on its own or be sold after U.S. Steel and its stakeholders failed to reach a deal on the future of the Canadian unit within its troubled Pittsburgh-based parent company. U.S.

Deutsche Bank AG expects to report a surprise third-quarter loss of 6.2 billion euros ($7 billion) and may eliminate its dividend for the year after writing down the value of its two biggest divisions and boosting its reserve for legal costs, Bloomberg News reported. The estimates, announced in a statement Wednesday, are part of a strategy that co-Chief Executive Officer John Cryan will present Oct. 29 as he looks to shore up capital and boost profitability at Europe’s biggest investment bank.

THE biggest risks to the global economy are now in emerging markets, where private companies have racked up considerable debt amid a fifth straight year of slowing growth, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday. “We estimate that there is up to $US3 trillion ($A4.16 trillion) in over-borrowing in emerging markets,” Jose Vinals, a top IMF official, said in presenting the body’s Global Financial Stability report at its annual meeting.

The Fitch rating agency has cut Ukraine's foreign currency rating to restrictive default after Kiev failed to repay $500 million in Eurobonds on September 23. A ‘restrictive default’ Fitch rating indicates a failure to pay on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation without entering bankruptcy or ceasing operations. The Fitch’s downgrade comes after a similar move from Standard & Poor’s that downgraded Ukraine’s credit rating to 'selective default' on September 25.

A European Union court on Wednesday rejected claims by more than 200 Italian investors against the European Central Bank over Greek debt restructuring in 2012, saying their losses were part of normal financial market risk. According to a Reuters report, more than 200 Italian investors were seeking to sue ECB for damages of more than 12 million euros. The investors claimed that ECB negotiated a secret swap agreement with Greece early in 2012, receiving new better-structured bonds and so granting itself preferred creditor status to the detriment of others, Reuters says.