Headlines

South Africa’s central bank governor has given warning about emerging market turbulence if volatility over the Chinese economy continues, but has ruled out any intervention to prop up a weak rand. The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) surprised analysts on Monday when it released a statement on currency volatility, saying it “may consider becoming involved in foreign exchange markets to ensure orderly market conditions”.

Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd said on Wednesday (Aug 26) that it strongly denies that Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) is considering pulling out of a plan to help restructure 1MDB's debts. "We in fact confirm that 1MDB remains engaged in discussions with IPIC, to conclude the transaction per the terms as officially announced by IPIC to the London Stock Exchange on 10 June 2015," it said in a statement.

Administrators for bankrupt technical services company Imtech said on Wednesday they had found buyers for two more units, securing a further 248 jobs. Imtech Industrial International and Ventilex have been bought by asset manager Techim, which looks after the financial interests of several wealthy families. In addition, parts of Imtech Building Services are also being sold and sector peer Unica has agreed to take over contracts worth €150m. Imtech’s Irish arm and Imtech UK may also be sold to British investment house Endless, which is now in exclusive talks with the administrators.

China’s central bank on Tuesday cut its benchmark interest rate and freed banks to lend more, the latest signs of the government’s growing distress over slumping stocks and slowing economic growth, the International New York Times reported. The central bank’s action followed a global stock market rout in which China led the declines. The main Shanghai share index plunged an additional 7.6 percent on Tuesday, to its lowest level this year.

World trade recorded its biggest contraction since the financial crisis in the first half of this year, according to figures that will fuel a debate over whether globalisation has peaked, the Financial Times reported. The volume of global trade fell 0.5 per cent in the three months to June compared with the first quarter, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, keepers of the World Trade Monitor, said on Tuesday.

A Western Australian electrical contractor that has been operating for more than 30 years and supplied machinery for mining in the Pilbara region has collapsed into voluntary administration, SmartCompany.com.au reported. Cape Range Electrical Contractors is a Newman-based electrical contractor business specialising in the supply, installation and maintenance for individual and commercial clients. The family-owned business has been operating since 1973 and mainly services the Newman and Pilbara region.

Madrid has sought to draw a line under austerity, setting out a budget proposal that includes tax cuts, higher salaries for public workers and more spending on education, defence and diplomacy. In a sign of the country’s return to economic strength, ministers vowed to couple spending increases with further budget consolidation. Public debt is set to fall to 98.2 per cent of gross domestic product, the first decline since the start of the crisis.

Brazil’s troubled economy showed more signs of deterioration on Tuesday as consumer confidence sank to a record low and unemployment climbed, The Wall Street Journal reported. It is the latest blow to a country beset with high inflation, a slumping currency and a festering corruption scandal that has left President Dilma Rousseff with approval ratings in the single digits. More bad news is expected Friday, when a report on gross domestic product is projected to show that Brazil’s economy is officially in recession.

The China-led turmoil that has rocked global markets in the past two weeks has also shaken the ruling Communist party and left Li Keqiang, the prime minister, fighting for his political future, according to analysts and people familiar with the internal workings of the party. Among party officials and politically connected people in Beijing, the hottest topic of conversation is whether Mr Li will take the fall for Beijing’s perceived mismanagement of the stock market crash and the country’s broader economic slowdown.

After spending about $200bn buying shares to prop up falling equity prices over the past seven weeks, Beijing capitulated to market forces on Monday by choosing not to intervene as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.5 per cent, the Financial Times reported. The fall was the worst since February 2007. But unlike on most other days since the government launched an unprecedented effort to reverse plunging equities last month, the “national team” of state-owned stock buyers did not jump in to support the market.