Headlines

Chinese developer Sunac China Holdings has filed for chapter 15 protection from creditors in a U.S. bankruptcy court, court documents showed, Reuters reported. Creditors of Sunac China Holdings approved its $9 billion offshore debt restructuring plan on Monday, marking the first approval of such debt overhaul by a major Chinese property developer.

Distressed Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. has passed an initial deadline to pay dollar bond interest with holders yet to receive the money, keeping the threat of a first default looming, Bloomberg News reported. The builder, which has become a symbol of China’s broader property debt crisis, had to pay $15.4 million of interest by Monday on the note. Two holders said they hadn’t gotten payment as of 3 p.m. Hong Kong time Tuesday. Country Garden didn’t comment when reached. There’s a 30-day grace period before a default can be called.

Growth will ease to 2.7% in 2024 after an already “sub-par” expansion of 3% this year, according to the latest OECD forecasts. With the exception of 2020, when Covid struck, that would mark the weakest annual expansion since the global financial crisis, Bloomberg News reported. “While high inflation continues to unwind the world economy remains in a difficult place,” OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli told a news conference on Tuesday.

Canada’s rate of inflation accelerated by more than expected for the second straight month, but the gains that are largely driven by higher gasoline prices may allow the Bank of Canada to look past the setback, Bloomberg News reported. The consumer price index rose 4% in August from a year ago, the quickest pace since April, following a 3.3% increase in July, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday in Ottawa. That’s faster than the median estimate of 3.8% in a Bloomberg survey of economists. On a monthly basis, the index rose 0.4%, double the expectations.

Canada's Liberal government, trailing in the polls amid complaints about the high cost of living, on Monday said it would soon introduce wide-ranging draft legislation designed to help curb inflation, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week announced a tax break designed to boost the construction of new rental apartment buildings and relieve pressure on the Canadian housing market. Later on Monday, the heads of major grocery chains will meet government ministers who are demanding to see a plan to counter soaring food prices.

The Brazilian economy kicked off the third quarter with a stronger-than-expected pace, bolstering recent upward revisions in the country's GDP growth forecast for 2023, Reuters reported. The IBC-Br economic activity index, a key predictor of gross domestic product, registered seasonally adjusted growth of 0.44% in July from June, surpassing the median forecast of a 0.3% expansion in a Reuters poll of economists. According to the central bank, the IBC-Br was up 0.66% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis from July 2022 and marked a rise of 3.12% in the 12 months.

After defaulting on billions of dollars owed to foreign lenders in December, the administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana had no choice but to agree to a $3 billion loan from the lender of last resort, the International Monetary Fund, the New York Times reported. It was the 17th time Ghana has been compelled to turn to the fund since it gained independence in 1957. This latest crisis was partly prompted by the havoc of the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and higher food and fuel prices.

The Biden administration is preparing to unveil new regulatory measures to allow more U.S. financial support for small private businesses in Cuba, Reuters reported. The move, expected as soon as this week, is seen as a long-promised but limited step to ease restrictions to help Cuba's budding entrepreneurs cope with fallout from the Communist-ruled island's crippled economy. The announcement is aimed at making it easier for Americans to directly assist Cuban small business owners by providing guidelines for loans to them through the U.S. financial system.

The United Auto Workers union said it would announce on Friday more plants to strike if no serious progress was made in talks with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler-parent Stellantis, adding to pressure on the Detroit Three automakers, Reuters reported. Ford also faces a total strike at its smaller Canadian operations if no agreement is reached on Monday evening with the union representing about 5,600 Canadian auto workers, just days after workers at one of its U.S. plants walked out. The UAW last week launched a targeted strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis, targeting one U.S.

Cryptocurrency usage is growing in Nigeria as Africa's largest economy grapples with a weakening currency and soaring inflation, New York-based blockchain research firm Chainalysis said in a report on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Nigeria's volume of crypto transactions grew 9% year-over-year to $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023. In Uganda, crypto use is smaller but growing fast, rising 245% to $1.6 billion in the same period, while its use in Kenya fell more than a half to $8.4 billion, the report said.