Headlines

Investors in Chile are bracing for a rare flood of commercial buildings to hit the market as two of the nation’s largest real estate investment funds near liquidation, Bloomberg News reported. Real estate portfolios worth $552 million held in funds managed by heavyweights Toesca SA and Banchile Inversiones could soon go on sale due to recent shareholder votes. That’s raising fears of a looming vicious cycle in Chile. Low prices prompted investors to give up and liquidate real estate investments, but the upcoming sudden supply of buildings could push prices down even further.

South Korea’s central bank held its base rate steady in a move that was widely anticipated but came alongside growing expectations that it could be gearing up to pivot toward policy easing in the coming months. The Bank of Korea on Thursday left its benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 3.50% for a 12th straight time—the longest such streak ever.

Just 19 of China’s 137 current electric car brands will be profitable by the end of the decade, leaving the rest to exit the industry, consolidate or battle for a minor market share, according to consultancy Alixpartners, Bloomberg News reported. A price war that has been running for almost two years has pressured margins at some Chinese EV makers, and could continue as dominate players like BYD Co. and Tesla Inc. seek to consolidate their dominant positions.

Britain's economy grew more quickly than expected in May, providing some momentum for the new government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer but adding to doubts about whether the Bank of England will cut interest rates next month, Reuters reported. Economic output increased by 0.4% in May, after zero growth in April, the Office for National Statistics said. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a 0.2% monthly increase. The strength of the upturn could dissuade the BoE from beginning to cut interest rates as soon as Aug. 1, its next scheduled monetary policy announcement date.

A company linked to the Chinese businessman who led the buyout of AC Milan in 2017 is being sued over unpaid debts by a group of investment firms, Bloomberg News reported. Five claims have been filed against British Virgin Islands-based Rossoneri Advance Co. Ltd. involving a combined $187 million in debt due and owed, according to court documents dated July 4. The five plaintiffs are suing for debt, damages, accrued interest and other claims.

A surprise return to profit has propelled Vietnam Airlines JSC to become the world’s best performing airline stock this year, shrugging off the risk of bankruptcy as the company’s post-pandemic recovery finally picks up momentum, Bloomberg News reported. The state-owned carrier has rallied 179% so far in 2024, lifted by a rebound in travel demand. That steered the company to post a bumper first quarter profit after more than four years of consecutive losses.

The system, which has fielded more than 50,000 applications since its creation and was one of the first of its kind in Europe, has been intensely scrutinized since February when a tribunal ordered the regulator to reassess its refusal to authorize the would-be chairman of two Irish investment funds, Bloomberg News reported.

China's Ministry of Finance is conducting more rigorous checks of work done by the Big Four auditing firms for local companies, three people with knowledge of the matter said, amid concerns auditors are not doing enough to uncover corporate wrongdoing, Reuters reported. The tighter scrutiny, which has not been previously reported, is mainly focused on Deloitte, EY, PwC, KPMG and their audits of some financial firms as well as highly leveraged companies, said the people.

China’s consumer inflation remained tepid last month while factory-gate prices continued to fall, pointing to persistently lackluster demand despite Beijing’s efforts to juice up consumption, the Wall Street Journal reported. The country’s consumer-price index rose for a fifth consecutive month in June, edging up 0.2% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. That missed the 0.4% rise expected by economists in a Wall Street Journal poll and compared with May’s 0.3% increase.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission is tightening rules on short selling and high-frequency trades in a bid to crack down on improper arbitrage and maintain market stability, Bloomberg News reported. The market watchdog approved the mainland stock exchanges to boost margin requirements in short selling, starting July 22. Meanwhile, China Securities Finance Corp., the country’s biggest stocks lending provider, will suspend its business of lending securities to brokerages starting July 11, with outstanding contracts to be settled by the end of September, the CSRC added.