Headlines

Scandinavian airline SAS secured an investment agreement with a consortium for restructuring aid of 13.2 billion Swedish crowns ($1.21 billion), with a loan from Castlelake replacing its previous debtor-in-possession financing by Apollo Global Management, the carrier said on Saturday, Reuters reported. The winning bidder consortium, which includes Air France-KLM, Lind Invest ApS and the Danish state, increased its proposed investment by $25.26 million.

The owner of Quebec’s main flyer distributor announced on Friday it will end the 45-year-old service, forcing more than 50 beleaguered local newspapers to rethink their strategy as well, the Eckville Echo reported. Starting in May, Montréal-based packaging and printing company TC Transcontinental plans to scrap the flyer bundles, known in Quebec as Publisac — distributed to 2.5 million households outside the city as part of a shift to a thin leaflet delivered by Canada Post.

General Motors will cancel 1,245 layoffs at its factories in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Caetano do Sul and Mogi das Cruzes in the state of Sao Paulo, the union representing metalworkers said on Saturday, Reuters reported. The announcement was made a day after a Brazilian labor court rejected the U.S. automaker's request for an injunction to maintain the layoffs. Saving the jobs was a “historic victory” following a 13-day strike, the Sindmetal union said in a statement, adding that GM representatives will meet union leaders on Monday to confirm the decision.

China’s deflationary pressures just aren’t going away, underscoring the fragility of the economic recovery as 2023 enters the home stretch, Bloomberg News reported. Data due Thursday will likely show that Chinese consumer prices slid back into deflation in October, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Producer prices also probably declined for a 13th consecutive month. Consumer costs have been stubbornly weak this year. The consumer price index slipped into deflation in July and has since been teetering on and off the edge of negative year-on-year growth.

U.S. businesses want certainty over the future of Washington's flagship trade program for Africa as they reduce their dependence on China and consider investing on the continent, a Biden administration official said on Saturday, Reuters reported. In the wake of the global pandemic and the supply chain headaches it provoked, companies across a range of industries are moving operations out of manufacturing powerhouse China in an effort to de-risk their businesses and foster resilience.

India's biggest airline, IndiGo, said on Friday it would lease new planes and extend agreements on some older ones to offset the disruption from new problems with Pratt & Whitney engines, Reuters reported. Pratt & Whitney parent RTX said in July a rare powder metal defect could lead to the cracking of some engine components in the twin-engined Airbus A320neo, and called for accelerated inspections.

The Bank of Canada has urged banks to reconsider offering variable-rate mortgages with fixed payments, concerned about the number of borrowers faced with negative amortization of their loans, Reuters reported. “I think that product needs a close look and I think it’ll get a close look,” Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday. “I think you’ll see the industry reflect on how much they want to offer that product,” she added. Many variable-rate mortgages in Canada require borrowers to make regular payments in fixed amounts.

Japanese stocks have trounced their Chinese peers this year, but some investors are betting the tide is about to turn, Bloomberg reported. Headwinds are growing for Japanese equities, including deteriorating global growth and concern the era of yen weakness that has bolstered exporters’ earnings may be nearly over as the central bank comes under pressure to tighten policy. Conversely, optimism is building that Beijing’s efforts to bolster the economy and local equity markets will help end a slump that has made Chinese equities among the world’s worst performers this year.

Canada will face rising economic uncertainty if the province of Alberta carries out a threat to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday, Reuters reported. Freeland made her remarks at a press conference after a phone call with regional finance ministers to discuss the issue. Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner later on Friday said the province would not leave fellow Canadians without a stable pension and its associated benefits.