Headlines

China’s economy showed signs of emerging from a soft patch in the third quarter, as retail sales got a lift from government stimulus and factory activity stabilized after months of weakness, the Wall Street Journal reported. Growth came in at 4.9%, faster than expected by economists though still a decline on a year-on-year basis from the previous quarter. Growth accelerated on quarter-on-quarter terms, which strips out distortions caused by China’s unlocking from Covid lockdowns in 2022. The economy’s performance holds off for now broad fears about a more serious economic crunch.

Singapore’s financial regulator will conduct an on-site inspection of Credit Suisse Group AG after at least one of its customers was charged for money laundering in a scandal that has rocked the city-state, Bloomberg News reported. The local unit of Credit Suisse will be among banks the Monetary Authority of Singapore plans to examine to determine whether they properly handled the monitoring of wealthy clients. Officials from the regulator are set to interview personnel and review documents within weeks.

South Africa’s strained public finances are hindering economic growth and a return to lower inflation, the country’s central bank cautioned on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. “Reducing public debt to sustainable levels can deliver a triple dividend, namely lower cost of capital, reduced debt-service costs and lower inflation,” the South African Reserve Bank said in its six-monthly Monetary Policy Review. The comments come ahead of a Nov. 1 update on the nation’s budget outlook by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

A Scottish bakery firm has gone bust, leaving the business with a six-figure debt trail, The National reported. Brawsome Bagels entered financial trouble earlier this year, leading to the closure of its takeaway in Glasgow’s west end. Owner Ian Brooke blamed rising costs, technical issues and change in consumer spending. It isn’t clear how many jobs were affected by the closure. But Brooke's firm, Southside Bagels, now has huge debts and owes money to a range of investors, banks and the HMRC.

The inflation rate in Britain held steady in September, defying expectations of a small decline, after as rise in fuel prices offset a slowdown in food inflation, the New York Times reported. Consumer prices overall rose 6.7 percent last month from a year earlier, the same pace as the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. For the first time in four months, the cost of transportation added to the rate of inflation, because of an increase in gasoline and diesel prices.

Canada will take steps in the coming weeks to ease a rental-unit shortage exacerbated by Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Freeland said that the government is examining options to ensure more short-term rentals become available as long-term rentals. Canada, where population growth is exceeding the pace of housing construction, is the latest country to tackle the problem.

Brazil's Finance Ministry has not taken a stance on limiting installments for credit card payments, the ministry's executive secretary, Dario Durigan, said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The central bank unveiled on Monday a proposal to card issuers and retailers, suggesting a maximum of 12 interest-free installments for credit card payments and limiting interchange fees paid by merchants to credit card issuers.

Retail sales volumes in Brazil overshoot market expectations but still posted a small decrease in August on a monthly basis, statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday, signaling the sector remains under pressure amid high borrowing costs, Reuters reported. In Latin America's largest economy, retail sales were down 0.2% in August from July, above the median forecast of a 0.7% decrease in a Reuters poll of economists but still in negative territory. The sector has been alternating between gains and losses this year as tight monetary policy keeps sales in check.

Australian house prices are poised for an annual rebound during a policy tightening campaign for the first time since at least the early 1990s, when the Reserve Bank began inflation targeting and entered the modern era, Bloomberg News reported. National property prices will climb 7.7% this year, a Bloomberg survey showed, recovering from a 4.8% decline in 2022. The median estimate of the poll of 12 economists was for the housing market to advance by a further 4.5% in 2024.

Sweden’s Volta Trucks AB is planning to file for bankruptcy following a breakdown in its supply chain, Bloomberg News reported. The decision comes roughly two months after Volta’s battery supplier Proterra Inc. failed, causing the truckmaker to fall short of production targets. The collapse “negatively affected our ability to raise sufficient capital in an already challenging capital-raising environment for electric-vehicle players,” Volta’s board said in a statement. Proterra’s U.S.