Headlines

Country Garden Holdings Co., the Chinese builder whose liquidity crunch shook the nation’s financial markets, is likely to avoid its first default on yuan bonds after most holders of a local note agreed not to demand repayment this week, Bloomberg News reported. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange met last week with some holders of the 800 million yuan ($111.5 million) security to seek such an outcome. The bond has a put option Dec. 13 that allows investors to demand repayment before maturity next year.

China’s top leaders including President Xi Jinping vowed to make industrial policy their top economic priority for next year, a message likely to disappoint investors hoping for an emphasis on stimulus, Bloomberg News reported. A readout of the annual economic work conference stressed the use of “technological innovation to lead the construction of a modern industrial system.” It also called to “vigorously” develop the digital economy and the artificial intelligence sector.

Myanmar's economy is forecast to grow only 1% in the fiscal year that ends in March, the World Bank says, as conditions deteriorate with an escalation in fighting between the military and its opponents that has newly displaced more than 500,000 people, the Associated Press reported. Intensified fighting near Myanmar's border with China has blocked trade routes, causing shortages of food and other necessities and worsening inflation that was already near 30%, the World Bank said in a report Tuesday.

Brazil’s annual inflation rate fell to within the central bank’s target range, keeping policymakers on track to deliver a fourth straight borrowing cost cut at Wednesday’s meeting, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Tuesday showed consumer prices rose 4.68% in November from a year earlier, just below the 4.7% median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Monthly inflation hit 0.28%. This year, the central bank targets annual inflation at 3.25% with a tolerance range of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

Argentina's new government will lay out its economic "shock" therapy plans on Tuesday afternoon in a bid to rein in triple-digit inflation and rebuild depleted foreign currency reserves, with markets and ordinary Argentines on tenterhooks about the impact, Reuters reported. Economy Minister Luis Caputo will announce the measures after markets close around 5 p.m. (2000 GMT), the spokesman for libertarian President Javier Milei, who took office on Sunday, told a news conference.

Days after EU countries and lawmakers agreed on a provisional deal on artificial intelligence rules, experts from both sides are meeting on Tuesday to hammer out details, Reuters reported. Over 11 scheduled technical meetings beginning on Tuesday, government officials and aides of lawmakers will hash out specific details such as the scope of the laws and how they will work. They will clarify the legal basis on how governments can use of AI in biometric surveillance, copyright issues posed by foundation models and how to regulate major AI systems such as ChatGPT will be on the agenda.

U.K. wage growth slowed at the sharpest pace in almost two years, a further sign that the labor market is cooling in response to a flagging economy, Bloomberg News reported. Average earnings excluding bonuses rose 7.3% in the three months through October compared with a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. That’s down from an upwardly revised 7.8% in the period through September. Economists had expected a figure of 7.4%.

Canada plans to revive a post-World War Two strategy of using pre-approved designs so homes can be built quickly and economically, in an effort to tackle a housing affordability crisis that has dented Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's popularity, Reuters reported. Housing Minister Sean Fraser said on Tuesday public consultations on the strategy - used in the 1950s to 1970s when housing demand surged after soldiers returned home - will begin in January.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that more needs to be done to fight inflation, adding he wants to maintain price agreements with companies to limit the cost of 24 basic food items, first introduced last year, Reuters reported. Mexico's annual inflation rose slightly to 4.32% in November compared to 4.26% the previous month, according to data released last week by the statistics institute. "We have to put in more effort. This is an issue that we have to take great care of," the president said speaking in a regular press conference.

Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said, Reuters reported. The shipping snarl through one of the world's main maritime trade routes comes at the peak season for U.S. crop exports, and the higher costs are threatening to dent demand for U.S. corn and soy suppliers that have already ceded market share to Brazil in recent years.