Headlines

German manufacturing orders unexpectedly rose in April, confounding fears that the Trump administration’s ratcheting up of tariffs would hit demand for German goods, the Wall Street Journal reported. Factory orders climbed 0.6% on month, Germany’s statistics agency Destatis said Thursday. Nevertheless, the first hard industrial data after President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement showed a slowdown from the 3.4% increase in March, which came as U.S. firms stockpiled goods from abroad in an effort to get ahead of proposed levies.

In a significant relief for Reliance Infrastructure, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday stayed the insolvency proceedings initiated against the company, the Times of India reported. In a regulatory filing, Reliance Infrastructure confirmed that the appellate tribunal has suspended the earlier order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai. "In the appeal filed, the NCLAT, today has suspended the Order dated May 30, 2025 passed by National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai in case no. C.P.

The Supreme Court has refused to stay the insolvency proceedings initiated against Future Ideas Company Ltd (FICL), a part of the erstwhile Kishore Biyani-led Future Group. However, it sought response from Axis Trustee Services and resolution professional Ritesh Agarwal on an appeal by Anil Biyani, the suspended director of FICL, the Economic Times of India reported. A Bench led by Justice Sanjay Karol posted the matter for further hearing on August 8.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday issued notices to electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing startup BluSmart Mobility Ltd and Gensol Engineering Ltd on three new insolvency petitions by financial creditors over alleged unpaid dues, LiveMint.com reported. Spectrum Trimpex Pvt. Ltd and Catalyst Trusteeship Ltd moved the tribunal under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against BluSmart over unpaid dues worth ₹1 crore each. Equentia Financial Services Pvt. Ltd claimed that Gensol Engineering owed it around ₹9 crore.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to cut interest rates by a further quarter point (0.25 per cent) on Thursday as inflation continues to cool and amid a slowdown in global trade from US tariffs, the Irish Times reported. ECB chief Christine Lagarde is also expected to face questions about her tenure as head of the bloc’s central bank amid speculation she may cut her term short.

President Donald Trump signed a directive on Tuesday formally raising steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% from 25%, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced, Bloomberg News reported. Trump said last Friday the higher charge will take effect on June 4, but Leavitt did not elaborate on the timing. The move raises trade tensions at a time when the US is locked in negotiations with numerous trading partners over his so-called “reciprocal” duties before a July 9 deadline.

Australia’s economy slowed sharply in the first three months of 2025, leaving it vulnerable to emerging weakness in world growth as the global trade war and a surge in geopolitical risk undermines the confidence of firms and consumers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The economy grew 0.2% in the first quarter from the prior quarter, and expanded by just 1.3% from a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. Economists had expected annual growth of closer to 1.5%.

The Bank of Canada is expected to keep its main interest rate unchanged this week as policymakers set aside signs of distress in the labor market and domestic demand to focus on accelerating core inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Eleven of 13 economists surveyed last week by the Bank of Canada told The Wall Street Journal that they anticipate the central bank would keep the target for the overnight rate at 2.75%.

South Korea’s headline inflation cooled to a five-month low in May and stayed below the central bank’s 2.0% annual target, justifying its resumed easing of policy to support economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. The benchmark consumer-price index rose 1.9% from a year earlier, following a 2.1% increase in April, the country’s statistics office said Wednesday. Price growth was largely kept in check by lower prices of oil products, fruits and vegetables, despite gains in the prices of some other agricultural and livestock goods, according to the statistics office.

President Trump’s trade war is expected to slow growth in the world’s leading economies, including the United States, this year and in the years to come, unless world leaders can resolve their differences over trade, the New York Times reported. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development slashed its outlook for global output to 2.9 percent this year, from 3.3 percent in 2024, the organization said in its economic report released on Tuesday.