Headlines

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, holding them at record lows as it continues a money-printing scheme to lift the economy, the Irish Times reported. The decision to leave the cost of borrowing unchanged was widely expected after the ECB cut rates to rock-bottom levels last September and said they had hit “the lower bound”. At Thursday’s meeting, the ECB left its main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of credit in the economy, at 0.05 per cent.

Under threat from the nation’s creditors to move quickly or lose any chance of obtaining a desperately needed new bailout package, Greece’s Parliament approved painful new austerity measures early Thursday, virtually guaranteeing that life would get harder for millions of Greeks, the International New York Times reported.

The International Monetary Fund said what everyone knew but would not admit when it laid out in gory detail late Tuesday how Greece could be crushed by its staggering debt unless creditors agreed to lighten the load, the International New York Times reported. The I.M.F. was not saying anything different from what it and its chief, Christine Lagarde, had quietly told eurozone leaders last weekend. But by going public with its warnings, the fund was putting the world on notice: Without some relief that might enable Greece to grow its way out of debt, the I.M.F.

Canada's central bank cut its key interest rate Wednesday as it slashed its economic outlook and predicted a pullback in the second quarter due to the impact of lower oil prices and weaker demand for exports, the International New York Times reported. The Bank of Canada cut its target for the overnight rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.5 percent. In response, the Canadian dollar plunged to a post-recession low of 77.29 U.S. cents Wednesday afternoon, down 1.2 cents from the previous close.

A Brazilian court approved a debtor-in-possession loan to engineering firm OAS SA, the company said, after it earlier this year filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of a corruption investigation that shut its access to refinancing. In a statement published late on Tuesday, OAS said judge Daniel Carnio Costa freed up the so-called DIP loan of 800 million reais ($254 million) after court-appointed administrator Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC gave the go-ahead for the financing facility.

European banks are set to face another round of stress tests next year as regulators examine the ability of the region’s lenders to survive a financial crisis or severe economic downturn, the International New York Times reported. The European Banking Authority, the regulator of the European Union, said on Wednesday in a news release that it would conduct the tests beginning in the first quarter of 2016. The results are expected to be released in the third quarter of 2016.

China’s feat in keeping growth from slipping below 7% and averting a stock-market collapse eases short-term pressure on policy makers but is likely to make Beijing’s long-term goals harder to reach, The Wall Street Journal reported. Since November, Beijing has tried to goose growth with four broad interest-rate cuts, several reductions in required bank reserves and hundreds of announced infrastructure projects. Such measures have worked before but tend to worsen debt.

The International Monetary Fund has sent its strongest signal that it may walk away from Greece’s new bailout programme, arguing in a confidential analysis that the country’s debt is skyrocketing and budget surplus targets set by Athens cannot be achieved, the Financial Times reported. In the three-page memo, sent to EU authorities at the weekend and obtained by the Financial Times, the IMF said the recent turmoil in the Greek economy would lead debt to peak at close to 200 per cent of economic output over the next two years.

The Greek government repaid Samurai notes maturing on Tuesday, according to bond agent Mizuho Bank, in a first sign the nation is honouring its obligations after reaching a deal with creditors, the Irish Times reported. Masako Shiono, a spokeswoman for Mizuho, confirmed the repayment. The outstanding amount was 11.67 billion yen ($95 million). The price of the securities fell to 44.73 yen against par on July 10th, compared with 80.35 yen on June 1st, the data show.

Most industrialists acknowledge the need to tackle the budget deficit, which at 7 per cent last year was the worst in a decade, the Financial Times reported. But many industries in Brazil are heavily dependent on government protection, subsidies and tax incentives to survive in an economy that the World Bank regards as one of the world’s least competitive. Critics feel the axe is falling too heavily on the wrong areas, such as exports, investment and manufacturing.