Headlines

China has ordered its local governments to halt public-private partnership projects identified as "problematic" and replaced a 10% budget spending allowance for these ventures with a vetting mechanism by Beijing as it tries to curb municipal debt risks, Reuters reported. The guidelines were mentioned in a cabinet document that was circulated among local governments, policy banks and state lenders last month, said the two sources with knowledge of the matter. The latest guidelines have not been reported previously.

Maike Metals International Co., once one of the most powerful traders in China’s massive copper market, filed for bankruptcy after more than a year of debt struggles, Bloomberg News reported. The firm founded by entrepreneur He Jinbi in the early 1990s was until recently responsible for more than a quarter of China’s copper imports. On Monday, Maike said the Intermediate People’s Court of Xi’an accepted its filing, a step toward a final ruling by the court to wind up the company.

Iconic furniture retailer Lastman’s Bad Boy could be clearing out its inventory as the Canadian company “is in financial crisis” according to filing under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, Insauga.com reported.

EU rules to protect the financial system from risks stemming from cryptocurrencies contain a loophole that allows banks to circumvent some safeguards and should be fixed urgently, the European Central Bank's chief supervisor Andrea Enria said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The cryptocurrency market is starting to bounce back a year after the collapse of exchange FTX and other big players in 2022 crushed prices, tarnished the industry and prompted a regulatory crackdown.

Consumer prices in Argentina rose last month at their fastest pace since the country was exiting hyperinflation more than three decades ago, highlighting the dire state of the economy ahead of Sunday’s presidential election, Bloomberg News reported. Prices rose 8.3% in October on a monthly basis, a notch below September’s figure and less than the 9.45% median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Annual inflation accelerated to 142.7%, according to official government data published Monday, also slightly below projections. Argentines will choose their next president on Nov.

London boroughs have spent about £300 million ($367 million) since the start of 2017 buying properties outside their local area for homeless people, a sign of the deep-rooted problems that are leaving councils around the country at risk of bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. Cash-strapped local authorities have acquired more than 1,000 of those homes as soaring rents push more Londoners to crisis point, and historic policies erode the supply of housing that councils have to offer. The figures were released to Bloomberg News under the Freedom of Information Act.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met top officials of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to negotiate a "multi-billion dollar infrastructure finance facility" to help build ports and power plants, his spokesperson said on Tuesday. Tinubu held talks with IsDB vice president Mansur Muhtar late on Monday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. He didn't provide further details of the finance package sought by the Nigerian government.

China’s show of support for one of its top builders has reinvigorated the property sector, but investors want to see more concrete measures before diving back in, Bloomberg News reported. Market players are looking for Beijing to unveil further steps to reverse a long-running slump after a pivotal week where authorities signaled their backing for China Vanke Co., the second-largest developer by contracted sales. On Tuesday, policymakers met firms including Vanke, Longfor Group Holdings Ltd, Gemdale Corp (China) and Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co.

Global ratings agency Fitch said today that it plans to withdraw all the ratings on China's Country Garden Services Holding on or about Dec. 12 for commercial reasons, Reuters reported. "Fitch believes that Country Garden Services investors benefit from increased rating coverage by Fitch and is providing approximately 30 days' notice to the market of the rating withdrawal," the ratings agency said in a statement on Monday. Fitch had downgraded Country Garden Services to BB+ and placed its rating on negative watch last week.

China will probably add more cash into the financial system this week as the largest amount of policy loans in a year come due. Some market watchers also expect a near-term reduction in banks’ reserve requirement ratio, Bloomberg News reported. The People’s Bank of China will offer 950 billion yuan ($130 billion) through the medium-term lending facility Wednesday, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. That would exceed the 850 billion yuan maturing this month. Most economists expect the one-year policy interest rate to remain unchanged at 2.5%.