Headlines

UK taxpayers have lost £400m following the collapse of hundreds of startups backed by a heavily criticised Covid-era investment fund launched by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor, the Guardian reported. The Future Fund spent £1.14bn backing 1,190 companies, some of them of types not usually associated with government portfolios such as the sex party organiser Killing Kittens and the now defunct festival tickets business Pollen. The fund also invested nearly £2m in companies linked to Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty.

The Bank of Canada reduced its key policy rate to a three-year low of 2.5% on Wednesday, the first cut in six months, citing a weak jobs market and less concern about underlying pressures on inflation, Reuters reported. The 25-basis-point cut had been widely expected by markets. The central bank paused its easing campaign in March after reducing rates by a total of 225 basis points in nine months, starting in June last year. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said the damaging effect of U.S. tariffs meant considerable uncertainty remained.

Indonesia’s central bank surprised markets by continuing its rate-cutting cycle amid domestic political uncertainty and ahead of a closely watched Federal Reserve meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank Indonesia lowered its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% on Wednesday, following back-to-back cuts in July and August. The move came on the cusp of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, where investors widely expect a 25-basis-point cut. The U.S.

The Mexican government turned to international debt markets for the second time this week to prop up flagging state oil producer Pemex, launching $8 billion in bonds on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The fresh offer, reported by IFR, LSEG's fixed-income news service, will help Pemex pay for a $9.9 billion bond buyback launched earlier this month. That buyback offer was oversubscribed by the early tender deadline of Monday, Pemex said. Tuesday's federal bond launch was split into $1.5 billion in notes due 2031, $4 billion maturing in 2033 and $2.5 billion maturing in 2025, IFR reported.

Mexico has started a public consultation process to gather information on the functioning of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA), the government's official gazette said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The evaluation is being carried out ahead of trade deal's planned review, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said in a video shared on his social media. The USMCA, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020 and was negotiated during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, requires the three countries to hold a joint review after six years.

If the government's proposed "fatal accident penalty fee" to eradicate industrial accidents becomes a reality, 97 out of 100 domestic construction companies would lose all their annual operating profits or record massive deficits from just one penalty, according to a commentary in The Chosun Daily. This means that even one or two penalties could push most construction companies to the brink of bankruptcy.

South Korea's Presidential Office said on Tuesday that tariff talks with the U.S. have been stalled for a while, but President Lee Jae Myung is determined not to force Korean companies to sustain losses by rushing to sign a trade deal, Reuters reported. The countries have been struggling to overcome obstacles to finalize a trade deal agreed in July. Details of the broad trade agreement still need to be hammered out, especially around a $350 billion investment fund. "We cannot do everything the U.S. wants. ...

The negative impact of higher tariffs on Japan has become more apparent, with the country’s exports staying weak in August as U.S.-bound shipments fell further, the Wall Street Journal/em> reported. Exports to the U.S. fell nearly 14% from a year earlier due to weak demand for autos and chip-making machines, finance ministry data showed Wednesday. That compared with July’s 10.1% fall and marked a fifth straight month of decline. Japan’s trade surplus with the U.S. also contracted, tumbling 50.5% from a year ago. Japanese companies have been slashing prices on cars sold in the U.S.

Crypto firms in Britain could be exempted from rules that ensure financial services companies act with integrity and in the interests of customers, under new proposals outlined by the Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The move comes after Britain signalled in April it would cooperate on the best approach towards digital assets with the United States, which has embraced the crypto industry and vowed to roll back regulatory curbs under President Donald Trump.

A Yorkshire scaffolding director has been ordered to fully repay £100,000 in Covid loans plus more than £15,000 interest, or face 12 months in prison, ConstructionNews.co.uk reported. Mark Degnan had already paid back £55,608 before he appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Monday (15 September) but could face 12 months in jail if he fails to repay the remaining £59,578 within six months, according to the Insolvency Service. Officials at the Insolvency Service said that he had “cynically exploited” the Covid loan scheme meant to help small businesses during the pandemic.