Headlines

Serbia's state bankruptcy supervision agency announced on Tuesday the sale of bankrupt Belgrade-based company Danube Riverside, including its assets such as the historic Hotel Jugoslavija, with a starting price of 3.18 billion dinars ($27.7 million/25.6 million euro), SeeNews.com reported. Apart from Hotel Jugoslavija, Danube Riverside assets include 45,613 square metres of land which it owns jointly with local financial firm MV Investment, the agency said in a tender invitation.

Canada's annual inflation rate slowed significantly more than expected to 2.9% in January and core price measures also eased, data showed on Tuesday, bringing forward bets for an early interest rate cut, Reuters reported. It was the first time in seven months that headline inflation has dipped below 3%. That prompted money markets to hike bets for a rate cut in April to 58% from 33% before the figures were published. The Bank of Canada's next policy announcement is March 6. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast inflation to tick down to 3.3% from 3.4% in December.

Private credit funds for professional investors are facing their first set of stricter rules under a European Union proposal slated for approval this week, as their growth has fueled questions about potential risks, Bloomberg News reported. EU governments are set to sign off on a regulatory update for managers of alternative investments such as direct lenders. It includes caps on leverage — the use of borrowed money to juice returns — for private credit funds and other restrictions that the industry warns will be onerous.

Turkey put an $8.5 billion sukuk deal with the United Arab Emirates on hold as it looks to explore cheaper options in the global bond markets, Bloomberg News reported. Ankara views the yield demanded by Abu Dhabi Development Holding Co PJSC, the fund owned by the United Arab Emirates, as unfavorable. Investor expectations of interest-rate cuts by major central banks later this year are fueling appetite for emerging-market debt, a shift in sentiment that Turkish corporates and the government are eager to capitalize on.

Two of the most high-ranking executives of Oscar Properties Holding AB are leaving the beleaguered Swedish property developer as it struggles for survival amid a dramatic financing crunch in the Swedish real estate sector, Bloomberg News reported. Chief Executive Officer Carl Janglin and Chief Financial Officer Magnus Thimgren said Monday they will leave their respective positions after less than a year. Janglin will remain with Oscar Properties until a successor is in place. Oscar Properties has been hit with two separate bankruptcy claims from creditors in recent weeks.

China’s economic malaise has pushed policymakers and state-owned banks to attempt an escalating series of remedies. Their latest attempt: A surprisingly aggressive cut to a key lending rate, the Wall Street Journal reported. The People’s Bank of China said Tuesday that China’s major banks reduced the five-year loan prime rate, a benchmark for home loans, to a new low of 3.95%, from 4.2% previously. It was the largest cut since the rate was introduced five years ago, and a much bigger reduction than economists had expected.

Bolivia's government set out on Tuesday a package of measures to spur investment and exports as it seeks to reverse a worsening dollar scarcity that has left shelves empty and workers unpaid, Reuters reported. The government of President Luis Arce said its plan, agreed with businesses, would aim to cut red tape for exports, increase investment in grains production, make diesel imports easier, and allow bigger trucks on the roads.

Liquidators of companies linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal have filed for chapter 15 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, as they look to recover assets, Bloomberg News reported. A petition listing 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, Platinum Global Luxury Services Ltd, Aabar International Investments PJS Ltd, Blackrock Commodities (Global) Ltd, and Alsen Chance Holdings Ltd - all registered in the British Virgin Islands - was submitted in the Southern District of Florida court, dated Feb. 15.

China cut the benchmark reference rate for mortgages at a monthly fixing on Tuesday by more than expected, as authorities ramped up efforts to stimulate credit demand and revive the property market, Reuters reported. Commercial banks' improving net interest margins following recent deposit rate cuts and the reduction to bank reserves earlier this month has paved the way for lenders to reduce borrowing costs to support the economy. The five-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.90% from 4.20% previously, while the one-year LPR was left unchanged at 3.45%.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin asked the central bank to urgently hold an unscheduled meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee to cut interest rate, saying the latest data indicated that the nation’s economy was in a crisis, Bloomberg News reported. “I would like to implore the MPC to urgently call a committee meeting to consider reducing interest without waiting for a scheduled meeting,” Srettha posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, late on Monday.