Headlines

The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the US is running deficits that are too big and is weighed down by too much debt, and it warned of dangers from increasingly aggressive trade policies, Bloomberg News reported. While calling the world’s largest economy “robust, dynamic and adaptable,” the fund leveled unusually harsh criticism toward the US, its biggest shareholder. It also slightly downgraded its estimate for growth this year to 2.6%, down 0.1 percentage point from its April forecast.

Brazilian power company Equatorial Energia SA emerged as the sole bidder to buy a key stake in Sabesp, the water utility that’s being privatized by Sao Paulo state in a multibillion-dollar share offering, Bloomberg News reported. Equatorial submitted a proposal by Wednesday’s deadline to buy a 15% stake in Cia. de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo, as the Brazil company is formally known, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A rival bid from a private utility backed by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Itausa SA, failed to materialize.

The Turkish central bank kept rates on hold for a third meeting straight, setting its stall on lower inflation in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported. The bank’s policy committee said Thursday that it would leave its benchmark one-week repo rate at 50.00%, a decision widely expected by economists. The bank last year embarked on a succession of rate-hikes, marking a divergence from a previous policy—encouraged by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—of keeping rates low despite rapid price inflation in the Anatolian republic.

The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for Ukraine, as Russian strikes on its power infrastructure drag on the nation’s economy, and said talks with bondholders are “intensifying” as a repayment deadline nears, Bloomberg News reported. That outlook came alongside the Washington-based lender’s final approval Friday to release $2.2 billion from Ukraine’s $15.6 billion aid package, an expected step after agreeing to terms late last month. This is the fifth tranche Ukraine has received under the program since it was established in 2023.

Mexico kept borrowing costs unchanged near a record high Thursday, as the combination of still rising consumer prices and peso volatility sidelined the central bank for a second straight meeting, Bloomberg News reported. Banxico, as the central bank is known, held the key rate at 11% in a decision that had been forecast by 25 of 27 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. It was a split decision, with deputy Governor Omar Mejia voting for a quarter-point cut with the other four members of the board voting in favor of the hold.

Argentine President Javier Milei’s administration embarked on what it called the second phase of its economic plan Friday by announcing that it will swap out notes held at the central bank for new Treasury debt that it’s still negotiating the terms of with private banks, Bloomberg News reported. Monetary authorities will phase out its one-day repo notes that currently pay an interest rate of 40% and served as the institution’s policy instrument.

Miguel Gutierrez, the former chief executive officer of Americanas SA, was detained early Friday in Madrid as part of an investigation into a massive accounting fraud at the Brazilian retailer, Bloomberg News reported. Brazil’s federal police confirmed the detention of the “main target” of its operation in Spain early Friday, identifying him only as the former CEO of Americanas, adding that Interpol carried out the arrest. The detention comes a day after police carried out arrest and search warrants in Rio de Janeiro as part of its biggest operation yet into the case.

An India government investigation found lapses in the corporate governance of Byju’s, but cleared the struggling online-education startup of financial fraud, the Economic Times of India reported. The yearlong probe by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs found no evidence of wrongdoing such as siphoning of funds or manipulation of financial accounts, people familiar with the matter said. Still, it discovered governance shortcomings that contributed to the startup’s mounting losses, the people said, asking not to be named as the investigators’ report isn’t public yet.

The first six months of this year have seen the highest rate of corporate insolvencies in Ireland since 2018, according to a study by Deloitte, the Irish Independent reported. Their research found there have been 412 insolvencies since January – up 25pc on the same period in 2023. Of those, 77 were in the hospitality sector, which was an 88 percent year-on-year increase. Deloitte calculates that Ireland is on course for over 800 insolvencies in the full year, which would be 25pc up on 2023. Almost all the firms going bust are small- and medium-sized enterprises.

A travel firm has cancelled all bookings until the end of next month due to issues of insolvency. Youtravel is cancelling bookings up to an including July 26 after its tour operator brand, FTI Touristik, filed for insolvency earlier this month, the Glasgow Evening Times reported. In a bid to 'secure its future', Youtravel confirmed that bookings made in the firm's system for arrivals up to and including July 26 will be cancelled without charge by Monday, July 1.