Headlines

In the seven years that he has been France’s president, Emmanuel Macron has bet on tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations as a recipe for stimulating the economy. His new government is about to tear up that playbook. Faced with a rapid deterioration in the nation’s finances, Mr.

Australia’s headline inflation rate fell to within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target band for the first time since 2021 in August, but economists warn that this won’t trigger an immediate interest-rate cut, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in the year to August, down from 3.5% on year in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The result was in line with market expectations.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said he’s pleased inflation is back to the central bank’s 2% target but he wants to see more easing in core measures and shelter prices, Bloomberg News reported.

Brazil’s annual inflation slowed much more than expected in early September despite a hike to utility bills, giving some respite to the central bank as it raises borrowing costs to tame prices, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Wednesday showed prices rose 4.12% from a year earlier, below all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists that had a 4.29% median estimate. On the month, they increased 0.13%.

Germany’s economy is likely to gather pace as several of the causes behind its recent weakness prove short-lived, according to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, Bloomberg News reported. Some of the factors holding back growth — which include elevated inflation, reluctant consumers and high interest rates — will probably only be “temporary,” Nagel said Tuesday in a speech, while acknowledging some longer-term structural problems that must be addressed.

Sweden’s central bank cut its key interest rate for the third time this year and said borrowing costs will likely be lowered again soon as a faltering economy threatens to push inflation further below its target, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Riksbank cut its key rate to 3.25% from 3.5%, in line with a poll of economists conducted by The Wall Street Journal ahead of the decision. “If the outlook for inflation and economic activity remains unchanged, the policy rate may also be cut at the two remaining monetary policy meetings this year,” the Riksbank said.

Europe’s real estate firms have raised $5.6 billion this year via equity offerings as landlords gear up to bolster their finances, Bloomberg News reported. The proceeds from initial public offerings and share sales in listed companies exceed the amount for the same period in 2023 more than three times, according to Bloomberg calculations. In the latest deal, beleaguered Swedish landlord SBB is offering 49% of the shares in its residential unit Sveafastigheter AB.

The bankruptcy court on Monday admitted Future Group’s affiliate Acute Retail Infra Pvt Ltd for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in an application filed by Avendus Finance Pvt Ltd after the company defaulted on its dues of over Rs 65 crore, the Economic Times of India reported. The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) while admitting the company has also appointed Ramesh M. Shetty as interim resolution professional (IRP) of the company.

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reiterated his cautious tone on Tuesday and said the central bank can wait to act until economic uncertainties become clearer, dampening speculation over another rate increase in October, the Wall Street Journal reported. “In making policy decisions, the bank will need to carefully assess factors such as developments in financial and capital markets at home and abroad and the situation in overseas economies underlying these developments. We have enough time to do so,” Ueda said in a speech to business leaders in Osaka.