Headlines

Company insolvencies have surged to a 16-year high as bosses give up ahead of Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, official figures show, The Telegraph reported. More businesses went under last month than in any January since the financial crisis. The number of corporate insolvencies jumped by 10.7pc year-on-year to hit 1,971, which means nearly 500 companies went bust every week. The monthly total was up by 6.5pc compared to December and was the highest January total since 2009, when the economy was reeling from the credit crunch.

U.K. annual inflation in January reached its highest level since March last year, complicating the picture for the Bank of England after it said it would cut interest rates gradually amid a weak outlook for economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 3.0% higher in January than a year earlier, up from 2.5% in December, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.

A steelworks project owned by tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has been ordered into administration by the South Australian government after his GFG Alliance failed to pay royalties, Bloomberg News reported. The South Australian government “has been in receipt of advice from our steel taskforce that the owner of the steelworks’ financial position wasn’t just deteriorating, it was likely to continue deteriorating,” the state’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates for the first time since 2020 on Tuesday, joining its international counterparts in the global easing cycle and opening the door for the immediate calling of a federal election, which must be held by mid-May. The central bank announced a 25-basis-point reduction in the official cash rate to 4.10%, growing in confidence that inflation has been tamed after a three-year battle to bring it down from a four-decade high. Still, the decision to ease was a cautious one, and RBA Gov.

Three creditors of Mirage Retail Group, the bankrupt parent of bankrupt household chain Blokker, have claimed the stores of retail chain Minso Nederland, according to bankruptcy administrator Job van Hooff, NL Times reported. Miniso is the only part of the group that is not yet bankrupt, and may be able to generate money for the creditors. Miniso is a Chinese retail formula that has grown to over 7,000 branches worldwide since its foundation in 2023. The retail formula was introduced in the Netherlands five years ago under Mirage Retail Group as the franchisee.

Canadian consumer prices reaccelerated for the first time in three months as the central bank’s preferred core measures are proving sticky, Bloomberg News reported. The consumer price index rose at a faster yearly pace in January, rising 1.9% and up from 1.8% in December, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday. The slight acceleration — which matched the median economist estimate in a Bloomberg survey — was largely driven by increased energy prices, while a temporary sales tax break helped slow price pressures for food and restaurant meals.

Japan's exports rose for a fourth consecutive month in January led by auto shipments to the United States, but if U.S. President Donald Trump goes through with a plan to impose hefty car tariffs, a sharp drop-off is likely, Reuters reported. The solid trade report came after Japan's GDP data released on Monday showed the economy grew faster than expected in the October-December quarter, strengthening the case for the central bank to continue raising interest rates.

Indonesia’s central bank hit the pause button again, holding rates steady after a surprise cut last month as it monitors currency headwinds and rising external risks, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank Indonesia kept its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 5.75% on Wednesday, in a decision analysts had expected to be a close one. Five out of seven economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a hold, while two had projected a 25-basis-point cut.

China is expected to leave its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, as authorities walk a fine line between prioritising financial stability and providing more stimulus at a time when Beijing is facing fresh trade tensions. The central bank has adopted a cautious approach in recent cash injection despite a shift to an "appropriately loose" monetary policy stance this year, as yuan weakness and narrowing net profit margins at lenders limit its easing efforts.

Truck maker Scania agreed to buy Northvolt’s heavy industry business, as the battery maker continues to work through a restructuring process, the Wall Street Journal reported. “This acquisition will provide access to a highly skilled and experienced team and a strong portfolio of battery systems built in Gdansk for industrial segments, such as construction and mining, complementing Scania’s current customer offering,” a Scania spokesperson said.