Headlines

A key unit of collapsed UK caravan giant RoyaleLife was placed into administration this week, as a fight heats up among debtors owed hundreds of millions of pounds, Bloomberg News reported. Time GB Group Limited is one of around 200 companies that make up RoyaleLife, a group that was owned and founded by self-proclaimed billionaire Robert Bull, but has now mostly collapsed into insolvency. The firm acted as a treasury company for RoyaleLife, undertaking money transfers across the group, and is the closest thing the caravan giant had to a corporate center.

The founding family of Country Garden recently loaned the embattled Chinese property developer $300 million interest free, and the family was also trying to sell its private jet, a Chinese online news outlet,The Paper, reported on Friday. Citing insiders, The Paper said the family was seeking to support liquidity for China's largest private property developer, which has missed coupon payments on some dollar bonds since last month, but has not defaulted.

Big banks in Britain are preparing for any future escalation of Western sanctions on China and have shared their "scenario planning" with the British and U.S. governments, a senior banking official has told Reuters. The project involves sharing lessons learned from other sanctions frameworks, including those on Russia, and discussions about the effect any measures imposed on China might have, Neil Whiley, director of sanctions at lobby group UK Finance, said.

Palestinian militant group Hamas uses a global financing network to funnel support from charities and friendly nations, passing cash through Gaza tunnels or using cryptocurrencies to bypass international sanctions, according to experts and officials, Reuters reported. However, Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, will face even more obstacles accessing funds after the rampage by the group's gunmen that killed hundreds of Israelis, mainly civilians. Israel has responded with the heaviest bombardment of Gaza in 75 years of conflict.

Mexico’s central bank is open to starting interest rate cuts in mid-2024, later than analysts expect, as a strong local economy complicates its inflation fight, a prominent board member said in an interview, Bloomberg News reported. Analysts are correct in penciling in the start of Banco de Mexico’s monetary easing no earlier than the first quarter of 2024, Jonathan Heath said in an interview on Friday.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said the inflation rate remains too high but there are clear signs that aggressive interest-rate hikes are reducing demand, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers remain concerned that they aren’t seeing “downward momentum” in core inflation measures, Macklem told reporters Friday, adding that his governing council is focused on analyzing how a slowing economy will influence price pressures in the future.

Lackluster inflation and declining trade numbers in China have stoked concerns that the world’s second-largest economy is still on shaky footing, despite recent signs of stabilization, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices unexpectedly flatlined in September after rebounding in August, pointing to weak demand and suggesting only a limited effect from Beijing’s recent efforts to put a floor under the economy. Outbound shipments also continued to contract last month, though at a less steep pace than August, according to official data released on Friday.

KKR & Co. is set to submit a binding offer for Telecom Italia SpA’s phone network, in what promises to be a game-changing deal for the ex-monopolist looking to slash its massive debt pile, Bloomberg News reported. Telecom Italia expects the final bid from the US private equity firm, following months of negotiations, by the end of this weekend at the latest, the people said, in line with a company deadline. KKR has valued the grid at as much as €23 billion ($24 billion).

Crypto exchanges in Australia will soon be required to hold a financial-services license issued by the markets regulator as the country seeks to support the growth of digital assets while protecting consumers, Bloomberg News reported. A government proposal that builds on existing laws will mean digital-asset platforms that hold more than A$5 million ($3.2 million), or A$1,500 for an individual, must get a permit from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or ASIC, according to a Treasury department document Monday.