Headlines

China’s sudden decision last month to devalue its currency riled neighbors and fueled investors’ fears about a sharp slowdown in the world’s No. 2 economy. But the move has won over the International Monetary Fund and even secured restrained praise from the U.S. Treasury Department, The Wall Street Journal reported. The currency maneuver has positioned the Chinese government to press for a greater international role for the yuan during visits to a series of Group of 20 meetings starting this week and a visit to Washington later this month.

Usually prime ministers call snap elections only when they have a great story to tell. But Alexis Tsipras has never been afraid to challenge conventional political wisdom. He is seeking a renewed mandate after just eight months in office despite what must rank as one of the worst economic records of any leader of a modern industrialized country outside of wartime.

Ambient Sibiu, a local do-it-yourself (DIY) retailer and distributor of building materials, has filed for insolvency. The company submitted an insolvency request at the Sibiu court asking for its approval to start a reorganization process, Romania-Insider.com reported. “The evolution of the construction sector and the retail with building materials in the past years has shown that the domestic market remains a difficult one,” reads a company press release, cited by local Capital.

China is imposing fresh controls to prevent too much money from leaving the country, in an effort to keep badly needed funds at home to battle a deepening slowdown in the world’s No. 2 economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. The country’s central bank said Tuesday that it will make it more expensive for investors to pressure the yuan to weaken against the U.S. dollar by adding conditions to futures contracts. Some of the country’s largest lenders, including Bank of China Ltd.

South Korean exports in August plunged 14.7% from a year ago, Business Insider reported. This was much worse than the 5.9% decline expected by economists. And it was the biggest drop since August 2009. This is a troubling sign, as Korea's exports represent the world's imports.

Portugal is having trouble selling the bank salvaged from the wreckage of one of the country’s biggest private lenders, the International New York Times reported. The Portuguese central bank on Tuesday missed its own deadline for selling the salvaged entity, Novo Banco, after talks with the front-running bidder faltered. The Bank of Portugal did not identify the bidder, but it has been widely reported to be a Chinese insurance and asset management company.

The first meeting of the five-person committee of inspection that will oversee the interests of creditors in the liquidation of OCS Operations, the trading arm of Clerys, will take place on Monday at the Dublin offices of KPMG, the Irish Times reported. Concession-holders owed more than €2 million in takings by the bust department store succeeded on Tuesday in gaining three seats on the group. Helen Lynch, owner of Best of Irish Designs, David Jones of Best Menswear and Keith Rogers of shoe retailer Ecco are believed to be the business-owners elected to the body.

A technical recession, but not an “outright recession.” That is the verdict from economists Tuesday after Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.5 per cent in the second quarter, following a 0.8 per cent decline (revised from an earlier figure of 0.6 per cent) in the first three months of the year, the Financial Post reported. A technical recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Regional airline Pascan Aviation has filed for creditor protection but says it will honour reservations and tickets as it continues to restructure its business in parts of Quebec and Atlantic Canada, CTV News reported on a Canadian Press story. Pascan says two government agencies are providing a total of $1 million in financial support while Pascan operates under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. The airline provides 40 daily flights to 12 airports in Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador using eight to 10 of its fleet of 23 small turboprop aircraft.

Eurozone consumer prices were barely higher than a year earlier in August, keeping pressure on the European Central Bank to consider additional stimulus measures to bring inflation closer to its target near 2%, The Wall Street Journal reported. The European Union’s statistics agency Monday said consumer prices in August were 0.2% higher than a year earlier, a rate of inflation that was unchanged from June and July. Inflation was restrained by a renewed fall in energy prices, which were down 7.1% from a year earlier.