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The executive board of the International Monetary Fund confirmed a deal with Egypt to increase its bailout loan from $3 billion to $8 billion, in a move that is meant to shore up the Arab country’s economy which is hit by a staggering shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation, the Associated Press reported. In a statement late Friday, the board said its decision would enable Egypt to immediately receive about $820 million as part of the deal which was announced earlier this month.
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Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Monday there were some speculative moves in the currency market that did not reflect economic fundamentals, repeating his warning against excessive yen declines, Reuters reported. "We will watch currency market developments with a strong sense of urgency, and will respond appropriately against excessive moves without ruling out any options," Suzuki told parliament.
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Japan's factory activity in March contracted for the 10th consecutive month though the downturn was the least pronounced in four months, helped by softer contractions in output and orders, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, Reuters reported. The final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) was at 48.2 in March, the highest level since November. That matched the flash reading and was better than February's 47.2, which marked the fastest pace of contraction in over 3-1/2 years.
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A private gauge showed China’s factory activity expanded in March, marking a fifth successive monthly improvement in the country’s manufacturing sector and reaching its highest level since February 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported. The China Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 51.1 in March from 50.9 in February, according to data released Monday by Caixin Media Co. and S&P Global. A reading above 50 indicates that the manufacturing sector grew, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
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China’s home sales slump dragged on in March, signaling a much-hoped turnaround for the sector isn’t in sight yet, Bloomberg News reported. The value of new-home sales from the 100 biggest real estate companies slid about 46% from a year earlier to 358 billion yuan ($49.6 billion), following a 60% decline in February, according to preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp. China’s protracted property sales drought has weighed on many of the nation’s biggest builders and eroded the balance sheets of the largest state-owned banks as their bad loans swell.
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Turkey’s lira reversed earlier losses and surged against the dollar on Monday as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated he’ll give his economic team more time to produce results despite facing an unprecedented rout at local elections over the weekend, Bloomberg News reported. Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party suffered a defeat on Sunday, ceding control of many of Turkey’s cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, to the opposition.
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Cerberus Capital Management LP and Intrum AB are considering a more extensive partnership as the Swedish debt collector explores options to address its borrowings, Bloomberg News reported. The U.S. alternative investor is looking at further ways to invest in Intrum and its assets after buying a portfolio from the company earlier this year, said people familiar with the matter. Talks are preliminary and might not yield any outcome, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
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China's government devoted the week to a red carpet welcome for foreign executives to try to halt a retreat in corporate investment from a market once seen as the engine of global growth, Reuters reported. But many executives leave China with a shared caution: While things may not be getting worse, the risks of an expansion in China still outweigh the rewards, they say. In a series of high-profile events, Chinese officials pledged equal treatment for foreign firms, expressed confidence China will hit its 5% growth target this year and President Xi Jinping held an audience with 15 U.S.
A sentence from a months-old speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping has sparked speculation the central bank might start aggressively buying government bonds to support the economy, a stimulus measure China has long shunned, Reuters reported. But most analysts say the People's Bank of China (PBOC) will stick with traditional tools rather than resorting to massive liquidity injections through "quantitative easing" (QE), as some major economies such as Japan and the United States have done.
Pride Group Holdings has sought creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), after lender Mitsubishi HC Capital America filed a claim this week seeking damages of approximately US$100 million, trucknews.com reported. Three lawsuits on behalf of the Mitsubishi HC Capital named Sulakhan ‘Sam’ Johal and Jasvir Johal, accuse them of taking out credit lines to build inventories for Pride Truck Sales and Tpine Leasing. It accused them of defaulting on payments they had personally guaranteed. The claims have not been proven in court.