Headlines

With new elections scheduled for Sunday and Greece’s relations with its European partners in a fragile state, this debt-ridden country has much on the line, the International New York Times reported. The next prime minister will have to navigate the tricky politics of the European Union at a time when some European leaders have made clear that their patience for keeping Greece in the eurozone is running out.

The view that China is growing far slower than official figures show is increasingly going mainstream, with big global investors among those now basing decisions on a rate of about 5 per cent, the Financial Times reported. According to government statistics China’s economy grew at an annual pace of 7 per cent in the second quarter of this year, in line with Beijing’s target for the year and the World Bank estimate of 7.1 per cent.

Ireland injected more capital into its banks than any other Euro zone country in terms of percentage of GDP, it experienced the highest increase of government debt as a result of its financial support to the banking sector, and it has one of the poorest recovery rates for this financial support, a report from the European Central Bank found on Wednesday, the Irish Times reported.

In the running debate over how to revive the Greek economy, there is one thing that locals and foreigners can agree on: The airport on this resort island, like many others in tourist-dependent Greece, does not befit a eurozone country, the International New York Times reported. The big, divisive question is whether the Greek government will be willing and able to hand over management of Corfu and many of the country’s other busiest airports to outside professional management, as part of Greece’s economic makeover.

Asia’s “trade recession” appears to have worsened in August — with India, China, South Korea and Indonesia all posting sharp declines — as a vicious circle of weakening currencies and faltering demand hits exports across the region, analysts said. Asia, led by China, has long been the world’s most dynamic trading region. But exports this year have posted their worst performance since the 2008-09 financial crisis, falling 7.7 per cent in July to register a ninth consecutive month of year on year falls in US dollar terms, according to data compiled by Capital Economics, a research company.

Fahad Al Raqbani, director general of Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, said that the long-awaited insolvency law in the United Arab Emirates is expected to contain provisions for corporate bankruptcy modeled on U.S. chapter 11 proceedings, The National reported yesterday. “Many companies in the US undergo Chapter 11 bankruptcy and then gain in momentum,” Raqbani said. “A given project may be successful, but also need restructuring.” The insolvency law was passed by the Cabinet in July.

China National Erzhong Group Co. may miss an interest payment later this month after one of its creditors filed a restructuring request, putting it at risk of becoming the second state-owned company to default in the nation’s onshore bond market, Bloomberg News reported today. The smelting-equipment maker might not be able to pay a coupon that’s due Sept. 28 on its 1 billion yuan ($157 million) of 5.65 percent 2017 notes if a local court accepts the creditor’s restructuring application before that date, according to a statement posted on Chinamoney.com.cn.

Central bank President Alexandre Tombini said keeping interest rates on hold for now is enough to tame Brazil’s above-target inflation, a view that clashes with traders’ bets, Bloomberg News reported today. The inflation outlook “shows that the monetary policy strategy is in the right direction,” Tombini told lawmakers in Brasilia Tuesday.

U.K. inflation edged down to zero in August amid a renewed fall in fuel costs and subdued price rises on the high street, the Telegraph reported today. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the drop in consumer prices inflation to zero from 0.1pc in the year to July was mainly driven by falling transport costs, as well as smaller increases in clothing and footwear prices than a year ago. This more than offset a slight rise in the cost of household goods and steadier food prices, which have been falling in recent months.

Nearly 150 leading economists today rebuked President François Hollande’s plan to appoint a former executive of France’s largest lender to head the country’s central bank by calling on legislators to block the appointment over concerns about conflicts of interest, the New York Times reported today. Hollande said last week that François Villeroy de Galhau, formerly co-chief operating officer at BNP Paribas, would head the Banque de France, succeeding Christian Noyer, who is to step down at the end of October.