Headlines

Insolvency tribunal NCLT approved 180 resolution plans in FY23, making it the highest-ever annual number so far, the Economic Times of India reported. With this, NCLT has clocked in a total realisation of Rs 51,424 crore from stressed assets. While, in terms of realisation of the amount for creditors, this is the second highest after FY19, when the total realisation was Rs 1.11 lakh crore after completing 77 insolvency proceedings including some big-ticket matters such as Essar Steel and Monnet Ispat.

Euro zone business activity was shored up last month by the bloc's dominant services industry offsetting a deepening decline in the manufacturing sector, according to a survey which also showed overall price pressures had abated, Reuters reported. HCOB's final Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global and seen as a good gauge of overall economic health, fell to a three-month low 52.8 in May from April's 54.1. While still comfortably above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction it was below a preliminary estimate for 53.3.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said inflation pressures remain powerful and borrowing costs will be raised further to tackle them — cementing expectations for another interest-rate hike at next week’s meeting, Bloomberg News reported. With the full effects of the ECB’s already historic monetary-tightening campaign still materializing, Lagarde reiterated that there’s no clear evidence that underlying inflation has peaked. Food inflation, for one, remains elevated, she said Monday. “Price pressures remain strong,” Lagarde told European Union lawmakers in Brussels.

In mid-May, cryptocurrency exchange Binance got some bad news in a far-flung corner of its sprawling universe. Binance’s payments partner in Australia had abruptly cut it off, meaning local customers couldn’t deposit Aussie dollars on the platform via bank transfer. The hit to business was immediate, with Binance halting all Aussie trading pairs about two weeks later, along with bank withdrawals of the local currency, Bloomberg News reported.

Canada’s economy hasn’t buckled under the weight of higher borrowing costs. On the contrary: strong growth has more economists predicting the central bank will resume raising interest rates soon, Bloomberg News reported. Thirteen of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg say the Canadian economy is proving less sensitive to higher rates than previously believed. Almost half now say the Bank of Canada will raise its benchmark overnight rate, currently 4.5%, between now and September. In the March survey, analysts unanimously said Governor Tiff Macklem’s next move would be a cut.

All five members of the Bank of Israel's monetary policy committee voted on May 22 to raise the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.75%, minutes of the discussion showed on Monday, Reuters reported. "The committee members noted that economic activity in Israel is at a high level, and is accompanied by a tight labour market, although there is some moderation in a number of indicators. Inflation is broad and remains high," the minutes said. Read more.

Switzerland's UBS said Monday that it expects to complete its takeover of longtime rival Credit Suisse as early as next week, the Associated Press reported. The two Zurich-based banks are uniting in a 3 billion-franc ($3.3 billion) deal that was arranged hastily in March by the Swiss government and regulators after Credit Suisse’s stock plunged and jittery depositors quickly pulled out their money. The merger was aimed at stemming upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two U.S. banks shook confidence in the sector.

Ilija Batljan, the founder and dominant shareholder of embattled Swedish landlord SBB, stepped down as chief executive officer in a dramatic move that highlights the uphill battle he faces to save his $13 billion empire, Bloomberg News reported. Batljan, who founded Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB in 2017, will hand off executive responsibility as of June 5, the Stockholm-based company said Friday in a statement. He will be replaced by Leiv Synnes, who has served as chief financial officer of Akelius Residential Property AB since 2014.

China is working on a new basket of measures to support the property market after existing policies failed to sustain a rebound in the ailing sector, Bloomberg News reported. Regulators are considering reducing the down payment in some non-core neighborhoods of major cities, lowering agent commissions on transactions, and further relaxing restrictions for residential purchases under the guidance of the State Council, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private.

Tremors in a key corner of China’s debt market are threatening to become the next force that will rattle the world’s second-largest economy. With the real estate market in a slump and growth showing signs of losing momentum, investors are growing concerned about another potential drag: Local government financing vehicles, which have long provided a big boost to the economy as authorities used them to bankroll the construction of roads, subways and other infrastructure projects, according to a Bloomberg News report.