Headlines

China’s bad loans jumped by the most since 2005 in the third quarter, fueling concern that a cooling economy will be further weakened as banks limit lending to avoid credit risks, Bloomberg News reported. Nonperforming loans rose 72.5 billion yuan ($11.8 billion) from the previous quarter to 766.9 billion yuan, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement on Nov. 15. Soured credit accounted for 1.16 percent of lending, up from 1.08 percent three months earlier.

American companies have plowed more money into the Netherlands than any other country in the world — for five years running. This does not reflect a new fascination with pot or pancakes, the International New York Times reported. It is about the taxes, or lack of them. The laws in Netherlands shield a variety of profits from taxation, making it attractive for big multinational companies like Starbucks, Google and IBM to set up offices. Even rock stars like the Rolling Stones and U2 have taken advantage of Dutch tax shelters.

Despite Bangladesh Bank efforts in bringing out business from default culture, the uptrend in classified loans continue for the consecutive third quarter in September, the Dhaka Tribune reported. It rose to 11.6% in July-September quarter from 10.75% in the previous quarter, according to Bangladesh Bank data. The rate had dropped to 8.93% in December last from 12.79% in the previous quarter, thanks to huge loan rescheduling taking advantage of a relaxed policy.

Japan’s economy unexpectedly shrank in the third quarter, according to government data released there on Monday, extending a painful slump triggered by an increase in the national sales tax and making it more likely that policy makers will put off a second tax hike scheduled to take effect next year, the International New York Times reported. The two-stage tax increase has become an all-consuming political issue in Japan, to the point that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering dissolving Parliament and calling fresh elections, people close to him say.

More than a trillion euros of government bonds may have to change hands if eurozone regulators press ahead with ambitions to toughen rules governing banks’ sovereign debt holdings, new analysis shows, the Financial Times reported. A limit on banks’ exposure to their own government’s debt could prompt a €1.1tn rebalancing of euro area sovereign debt portfolios, mostly away from banks’ home governments, according a report from Fitch Ratings. The biggest impact would be felt in the German government debt markets, as banks were forced to shed €330bn of Bunds.

Belgian law firm Deminor said it had been contacted by 15 to 20 investment firms considering legal action over the failure of OW Bunker, the world's largest shipping firm which filed for bankruptcy a week ago, Reuters reported. Deminor, which specialises in representing institutional investors in class actions against public listed companies, did not say on Friday which investors had contacted it and gave no further detail on possible actions over the company's collapse. OW Bunker, Denmark's the third-largest company by revenue, said on Nov.

The bankruptcy filing of a giant shipping-fuel supplier has sent shock waves through Singapore, one of the world’s busiest ports, with companies in the city bracing for a number of payment defaults and worries over a potential cash crunch, The Wall Street Journal reported. Small buyers and sellers of shipping fuel, also known as bunker fuel, are expected to be hit the most in Singapore, where the industry is worth $20 billion to $25 billion in sales a year. The scare has also led to higher fuel prices and panic buying in other Asian ports and the Middle East.

China’s property market in October has shown some signs of mild improvement, but now may not be the time to heave a sigh of relief, The Wall Street Journal China Real Time blog reported. The year-on-year slide in housing sales moderated in October to 3.1% from the 10.3% recorded in September. Some home buyers apparently returned to property showrooms after Beijing announced a loosening of mortgage rules to support the country’s weakened housing market.

Lawyers representing the provincial government took centre stage at U.S. Steel Canada’s restructuring hearing on Thursday, as the court worked toward figuring out who should gets paid first if the company is sold or goes bankrupt, CBC News reported. The province won the right to file future claims against U.S. Steel Canada during its restructuring, while also successfully arguing the court will be allowed to examine the American parent's claim when it comes time to decide who what piece of the proceeds or assets. U.S.

For many people in Central and Eastern Europe, a new experience began a quarter-century ago. Communist governments collapsed, and the wide world of private ownership, democracy and free markets opened up suddenly. It was not always a happy transition, the International New York Times reported. This month, even as Germans were celebrating the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Hungarian government was passing laws and issuing edicts aimed at helping a large proportion of the populace recover from the mistake of buying houses with loans denominated in Swiss francs.