Headlines

Kiyoshi Hashimoto's machinery factory outside Tokyo should be buzzing with industry. Instead, it's so quiet you can hear him practising the recorder. The 82-year-old entrepreneur founded his company nearly 40 years ago, but well past retirement age he has neither a successor nor a buyer for a business that retains loyal clients, the Japan Times reported. It is a problem that Japan's government warns could affect up to a third of all small businesses in the country by 2025, as the country's population shrinks and ages.

China's imports and exports fell much faster than expected in July as weaker demand threatens recovery prospects in the world's second-largest economy, heightening pressure for authorities to release fresh stimulus to steady growth, Reuters reported. The grim trade numbers reinforce expectations that economic activity could slow further in the third quarter, with construction, manufacturing and services activity, foreign direct investment and industrial profits all weakening.

Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co.’s stock and bonds plunged as noteholders said they haven’t received coupon payments effectively due Monday, further darkening sentiment in the crisis-stricken property sector, Bloomberg News reported. Some holders of two different notes said they didn’t receive coupon payments as of Tuesday afternoon. The investors asked not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak publicly. The company owed $10.5 million of interest on a dollar bond that matures in 2026 and $12 million on a note due 2030, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Consumer expectations for euro-area inflation fell in June but remained above the European Central Bank’s 2% target as officials ponder whether to continue their unprecedented bout of interest-rate hikes, Bloomberg News reported. Expectations for the next 12 months declined to 3.4% from 3.9% in May, the ECB said Tuesday in its monthly survey. For three years ahead, they dropped to 2.3% from 2.5%. The results come before a September meeting that President Christine Lagarde has said will decide between a 10th straight increase in the deposit rate and a pause.

Italian bank stocks plunged Tuesday after the Cabinet approved a proposal to apply a 40% tax on some bank profits this year to help consumers and businesses cope with higher borrowing costs, the Associated Press reported. Transport Minister Matteo Salvini announced the tax at a Monday evening press conference, saying it was a measure of “social equity” to make up for a series of interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank.

Chile’s annual inflation eased broadly in line with forecasts in July, a month that ended with the central bank delivering a larger-than-expected interest rate cut and indicating more big reductions to come, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 6.5% from a year prior, just above the 6.4% median estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Monthly inflation stood at 0.4%, the national statistics institute reported on Tuesday. A closely-watched price gauge that excludes volatile items increased 8.5% in 12 months and 0.3% from June.

Brazil’s central bank said a faster pace of interest rate cuts is unlikely after it kicked off an easing cycle with a bigger-than-expected reduction of 50 basis points, Bloomberg News reported. “The Committee judges that there is low probability of an additional intensification in the pace of adjustment,” central bankers wrote in the minutes of their Aug. 1-2 meeting published on Tuesday.

Argentina’s peso fell to a record low in the parallel market as the nation braces for volatility ahead of key primary elections Sunday, Bloomberg News reported. The parallel exchange rate, known locally as the blue-chip swap, weakened as much as 1.7% to around 591 pesos per dollar Monday. Argentina’s official exchange rate dropped as much 1.4%, the most intraday since September 2020, bringing the gap between the two to more than 109%.

Pakistan plans to privatise its loss-making national carrier Pakistan International Airlines, the government said on Monday, as the country also seeks to outsource its airport operations in line with an IMF deal, Reuters reported. The privatisation decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Privatisation chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The committee "after deliberation decided to include Pakistan International Airlines Co.

Russia's budget deficit for January-July widened to 2.82 trillion roubles ($29.3 billion), or 1.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), the finance ministry said on Tuesday, citing preliminary estimates, Reuters reported. In the first seven months of last year, Russia posted a surplus of 557 billion roubles, but significant outlays to support its war in Ukraine - which Moscow calls a "special military operation" - and a barrage of Western sanctions on its oil and gas exports have hit government coffers since then.