Headlines

China's central bank lowered a short-term lending rate for the first time in 10 months on Tuesday, to help restore market confidence and prop up a stalling post-pandemic recovery in the world's second-largest economy, Reuters reported. The cut to the lending rate signals possible easing for longer-term rates over the next week and beyond as demand and investor sentiment weaken, adding to the case for urgent policy stimulus to sustain growth.

China's new bank loans picked up in May from the previous month, as the central bank kept policy accommodative to support the economy, but signs of slowing momentum have raised expectations that more stimulus may be needed to sustain the recovery, Reuters reported. The weaker-than-expected credit data could strengthen the case for policymakers to roll out more support steps, including a cut in the benchmark lending rate this month, analysts said, amid deflationary risks and mounting local government debt.

Just last year, billionaire Wang Jianlin had appeared to cement his reputation as one of the few remaining Chinese property tycoons to sidestep a wave of debt defaults sweeping the industry, Bloomberg News reported. The Dalian Wanda Group founder was confident enough in his financial position to offer help to a fellow Chinese mogul who wanted to sell a portfolio of shopping malls for 700 million yuan ($98 million), according to people familiar with the matter.

Days after welcoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of efforts to reset relations with the US, Saudi Arabia turned its attention to boosting ties with one of Washington’s main competitors: China, Bloomberg News reported. For the past two days, the Saudi capital has played host to the largest ever Chinese-Arab business gathering. Under the chandeliers and vaulted ceilings of Riyadh’s grandest conference hall, Saudi officials spoke of integrating China into the Arab region and Chinese executives said they stood ready to “de-Americanize” the world’s top oil exporter.

Adani Group is in talks with lenders, including global banks, as it seeks to refinance up to $3.8 billion of a loan facility taken for its acquisition of Ambuja Cements Ltd. last year, Bloomberg News reported. The ports-to-power conglomerate owned by Indian tycoon Gautam Adani is mulling whether to convert the original loan into debt with a longer maturity period and has started talking to banks individually about that plan, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.

The Bank of England was the first of the world’s major central banks to start raising interest rates to tackle the post-pandemic inflation surge. Money markets are betting it may be the last to stop, Bloomberg News reported. Strong labor-market figures on Tuesday sparked big moves in bond markets, with yields jumping to the highest since 2008. Alongside that, traders dramatically reassessed the UK rate outlook and are now pricing a more than one-in-three chance that the BOE will lift its benchmark to 6% by early next year.

Spain's BBVA and Bank of Cyprus reopened the market with the issuance of the first euro-denominated contingent convertible bonds (CoCo) since the rescue of Credit Suisse in March, in what is seen as an attempt to restore confidence in the banks' riskiest debt instruments, Reuters reported. The Spanish bank said it aimed to raise between 750 million euros ($810.08 million) and 1 billion euros with this issuance. According to a lead manager memo seen by Reuters, the issuance had already received orders worth over 3 billion euros.

Irish tax defaulters paid €7.3 million to settle unpaid debts to the Revenue in the first three months of the year, new figures show, the Irish Times reported. Longford waste business Mulleady’s Ltd heads the list, paying €828,575 in tax, interest and penalties after an audit found it had under-declared income tax and social insurance. Builder Thomas Foley, of St Anne’s Green, Carlow, listed as a company director, made the biggest personal settlement, €809,018 for under declaration of income and capital gains tax.

The main shareholders at embattled Brazilian retailer Americanas SA tentatively have agreed to retain their stake for about three years as part of a restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported. The precise lock-up period for the billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Sicupira is still under discussion and creditors are requiring it to last into 2027 as a guarantee shareholders will keep helping to rescue the company, the people said, asking not to be named because the negotiations are not public. Lemann, Telles and Sicupira declined to comment.

A committee that reviews disputes in the credit default swaps (CDS) market said on Monday that it had been asked to address a question of whether there is a successor to Credit Suisse Group, Reuters reported. This comes on the day that UBS completed its emergency takeover of embattled local rival Credit Suisse, creating a giant Swiss bank with a balance sheet of $1.6 trillion and greater muscle in wealth management. The CDS panel said on its website it has accepted the question by an investor and it will meet on Tuesday at 13:00 GMT to discuss it.