Headlines

Local government bodies have warned that more councils across the UK could declare themselves in financial dire straits, after the country’s second biggest city said it could not balance its books, Agence France-Presse reported. In a statement on Tuesday, Birmingham City Council in central England said it had issued a Section 114 Notice under the Local Government Finance Act 1988, effectively declaring itself bankrupt. The statutory trigger blocks spending on all but essential services, and forces councillors to come up with an action plan within 21 days to tackle the shortfall.

The new owners of steel maker Celsa, Spain's largest private industrial group, said on Wednesday they will appoint former Gas Natural Fenosa CEO Rafael Villaseca as chairman of its board of directors, Reuters reported. On Monday, a local court in Barcelona approved a multibillion-euro restructuring plan presented by Celsa's creditors, handing over control of the firm to a group that includes Deutsche Bank, Attestor, Anchorage, GoldenTree and SVP.

Genesis Global Trading, an affiliate of Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, will wind down its spot trading crypto trading service as of Sept. 18 for “business reasons,” Bloomberg News reported. Another of DCG’s related companies, crypto lender Genesis Global Holdco, filed for bankruptcy in January. At the time, DCG noted that the trading operation would “continue to operate business as usual.” “This decision was made voluntarily and for business reasons,” Genesis said through a spokesperson Tuesday.

Speculative bets that Chinese authorities will widen support for the property sector sent some of the country’s ailing developers surging by the most on record, Bloomberg News reported. A Bloomberg Intelligence gauge tracking Chinese builders gained nearly 10% Wednesday, the most in more than a month. Heavily indebted developers with depressed valuations were among those to rally the most, with Sunac China Holdings Ltd. soaring 68% alongside a spike in trading volume. China Evergrande Group closed up 83% — capping the biggest gain since its 2009 listing.

Global debt markets are bursting with new deals as September kicks off, with investment-grade companies rushing to lock in borrowing costs before central bankers can raise them further, Bloomberg News reported. At least 40 businesses tapped high-grade debt markets around the world on Tuesday, ahead of crucial releases of economic data and central bank policy decisions later in the month.

Former Americanas Chief Executive Miguel Gutierrez denies any knowledge of accounting irregularities during the two decades he was at the helm of the Brazilian retailer, he said in a letter sent to congressional investigators, Reuters reported. Gutierrez never "participated, authorized, ordered, tolerated or became aware of any act tending to manipulate the company's accounting or to enable any type of fraud", he said in the Sept. 4 letter sent to the congressional committee investigating the company's near-collapse and viewed by Reuters.

Financial technology companies should create a self-regulatory body to address their needs and challenges, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday, as the industry grows at a break-neck speed due to surging demand for digital payments and borrowings, Reuters reported. "I would like to use this opportunity to urge and encourage the fintechs to establish a self-regulatory organisation or SRO themselves. From the Reserve Bank, we are willing to engage with you," Das said while delivering the keynote address at the Global FinTech Fest 2023 (GFF).

The Bank of Canada on Wednesday is expected to keep rates on hold at a 22-year high of 5% after the economy unexpectedly shrank in the second quarter, analysts said, Reuters reported. The central bank hiked rates by a quarter point in both June and July, and then said it was prepared to raise rates again to tame inflation that has remained above the bank's 2% target for 27 months. While the economy turned negative in the second quarter, inflation has been stubborn, unexpectedly rising to 3.3% in July as core measures remained well above 3%.

Chile's central bank on Wednesday lowered the top end of its estimate for the country's economic performance in 2023, saying it now forecasts gross domestic product (GDP) to show no growth in the most optimistic scenario, Reuters reported. The monetary authority previously expected an economic expansion of as much as 0.25% this year. It maintained the lower end of its GDP forecast at a contraction of 0.5%. The lowered estimate accounts for the impact of operational issues that have hit mining production in Chile, the world's largest copper producer, in recent months, the central bank said.

African leaders called for wide-ranging debt relief and a flood of climate finance to help the continent boost its electricity generation from renewable sources almost sixfold by 2030, Bloomberg News reported. In a declaration signed by leaders at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, they called for the tenor of sovereign loans to be extended, debt pauses when climate disasters strike and a 10-year grace period on interest payments.