Headlines

After Beijing ordered Chinese cities to buy newly-completed apartments and turn them into affordable housing, the first steps they took were to unveil plans to broaden eligibility for subsidies and fix other economic headaches in the process, Reuters reported. Chinese leaders issued the directive in May, aiming to alleviate a protracted property crisis, which has led to bloated inventories of unsold apartments that have crippled developers' cash flows and weighed heavily on home prices, consumer confidence and economic activity.

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that global inflation is expected to come down more slowly in the second half of the year, raising the prospect of interest rates remaining "higher-for-even- longer," YahooFinance.com reported. The reason: the price of services. That broad category ranges from housing and haircuts to restaurants and medical treatment. "Services price inflation is holding up progress on disinflation, which is complicating monetary policy normalization," according to a new IMF report released Tuesday.

Euro zone households are applying for loans in growing numbers for the first time in two years as they grow more optimistic about the economy and interest rates fall, a European Central Bank survey showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The ECB began cutting interest rates in June but borrowing costs on financial markets started falling well before then, slowly making credit more attractive.

Nigeria’s annual inflation quickened for an 18th straight month, raising the prospect of another interest-rate increase when the central bank meets next week, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 34.2% in June from 34% a month earlier, according to data published on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The median estimate of eight economists in a Bloomberg survey was 34%. The main drivers of the acceleration were higher rental, transport and grain costs.

Energy Absolute Pcl shares plunged by the 30% daily limit after the founder and chief executive quit over a fraud probe and its credit rating was slashed to junk, Bloomberg News reported. Energy Absolute fell to a 10-year low of 9.2 baht when it resumed trading Tuesday, after revealing it has 19.5 billion baht ($539 million) of debt due in 2024 and is seeking one or more strategic partners. Its disclosure followed a one-day share suspension ordered by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which demanded the renewables company explain its financials and the impact of a fraud probe.

Thailand's prime minister said Monday that eligible businesses and individuals can register from August for digital cash handouts, a controversial program that will cost billions of dollars and is meant to boost the lagging economy. The government announced in April the widely criticized ambitious plan, named the “Digital Wallet,” meant to give 10,000 baht (about $275) to 50 million citizens in digital money to spend at local businesses.

Brazil’s economy grew slightly less than expected in May though prior figures were revised up, the central bank’s main gauge of activity showed amid signs that borrowing costs will stay high for longer, Bloomberg News reported. The bank’s economic activity index, a proxy for gross domestic product, rose 0.25% from April, below the 0.3% median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Still, April’s monthly growth was revised to 0.26% from 0.01% previously, according to data published on Monday. From a year ago, the gauge gained 1.3%, the report added.

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), there was an increase of 37 companies that were declared bankrupt in June compared to a month earlier. This is a rise of 11 percent, the NL Times reported. According to CBS, the number of bankruptcies has been trending upward for the last two years. In the first six months of 2024, 40 percent more companies were declared bankrupt than in the same period a year earlier. The number of bankruptcies was also higher than in the same time period in the three years before the coronavirus, CBS reported.

The Alpenländische Kreditorenverband or Alpine Creditors' Association (AKV Europa) recently reported that 2,098 corporate insolvencies were opened in the first half of 2024, according to Vindobona.org. This represents an increase of 35.35% compared to the previous year and is the highest figure in 15 years. The AKV Europa said that the total liabilities of insolvent companies rose to 11.5 billion euros, which corresponds to a nine-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has dismissed the resolution plan submitted for realty developer Rajesh Lifespaces' hotel business, Rajesh Business & Leisure Hotels, citing non-conformity with statutory requirements and procedural irregularities, the Economic Times of India reported. The corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of Rajesh Business & Leisure Hotels, managed by the resolution professional (RP), had witnessed competing proposals from consortiums led by Sankalp Consortium and Rare ARC-Shree Naman Developers.