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Private economists in Brazil anticipate deeper monetary easing this year and improved inflation prospects until 2026 following the government's decision to maintain the country's inflation goal at 3%, a weekly central bank poll showed on Monday, Reuters reported. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has consistently blasted the country's central bank for keeping interest rates at a cycle-high of 13.75% even as inflation slows. During the first months of his administration, he also criticized inflation targets as too low, arguing that they led to an overly restrictive monetary policy.
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Inflation in Peru’s capital slowed sharply in June as its economy cooled more than initially expected due to political instability, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices in Lima in June rose 6.46% from a year earlier, compared to the 6.92% median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. In May, annual inflation had reached 7.9%. Peru’s central bank uses the capital area as representative of inflation nationwide. On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell by 0.15%, according to statistics agency INEI, while economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected prices to rise 0.2%.
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The head of Slovakia’s central bank, who is a member of the European Central Bank committee that decides monetary policy for 20 countries, said Monday he won't step down despite bribery charges against him, the Associated Press reported. Peter Kazimir is accused of paying a bribe of 48,000 euros ($52,000) to the head of the country’s tax office in connection with a tax audit of several private companies. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. It wasn't clear when a verdict might be issued. Kazimir said he considered the charges illegal and fabricated.
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South Korea's factory activity shrank at a steeper pace in June and extended its downturn to a record 12th consecutive month, a survey showed on Monday, underlining the challenges facing the economy as it struggles to mount solid recovery, Reuters reported. The survey result comes in stark contrast to other brighter signs of recoveries in the country's output and exports, suggesting manufacturers' downbeat sentiment and weak business conditions might take a while longer to turn a corner.
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Japan's factory activity contracted in June after expanding for the first time in 7 months in May, a private survey showed on Monday, dragged down by weak orders for cyclical goods amid a global economic slowdown, Reuters reported. The final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index was at 49.8, returning below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from shrinkage, after May's 50.6 reading. Output and new orders, the subindexes that constitute the majority of the headline index, fell back to contraction, ending a brief rebound buoyed by improved business confidence.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping’s elevation of a long-serving technocrat as the central bank’s top Communist Party official signals policy makers will avoid any drastic shifts for now as the world’s second-biggest economy struggles to regain momentum, Bloomberg News reported. Pan Gongsheng’s appointment Saturday as party chief of the People’s Bank of China indicates the bank will stay the course, consistent with its recent approach of only modestly cutting interest rates and encouraging banks to lend more to targeted areas.
China's factory activity growth slowed in June, a private sector survey showed on Monday, with sentiment waning and recruitment cooling as firms grew increasingly concerned about sluggish market conditions, Reuters reported. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) eased to 50.5 in June from 50.9 in May, indicating a marginal expansion in activity. The 50-point index mark separates growth from contraction. The figure, combined with Friday's official survey that showed factory activity extending declines, adds to evidence the world's No.
IDFC First Bank said on Monday its board had given the green light for a merger with IDFC Ltd, just days after the landmark $40 billion merger between Housing Development Finance Corp and HDFC Bank came into effect, Reuters reported. IDFC Ltd shareholders will receive 155 shares of IDFC First Bank for each set of 100 shares they currently own in IDFC Ltd, according to an exchange filing. The boards of Housing Development Finance Corp and HDFC Bank on Friday approved July 1 as the effective date of the two financial behemoths' merger, the largest in India's corporate history.
Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed hope that the country will be able to shed its bankruptcy status by September and boost its economy, the Economic Times of India reported. Wickremesinghe’s remark came in the backdrop of Lanka's parliament approving a domestic debt restructuring plan on Saturday that is crucial to continue a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The plan was passed with a majority of 122 votes in the 225-member parliament.
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The number of German firms pushed into insolvency rose in the first half of this year at the fastest pace in more than two decades due to the energy crisis, inflation and rising interest rates, a study by credit agency Creditreform showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. There were 8,400 corporate insolvencies in Germany from January to June, up 16.2% from the first half of 2022 and the biggest percentage increase in more than 20 years, Creditreform said.
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