Headlines

Japan’s latest inflation figures due Friday are likely to cement the view among some economists that the central bank will have to bump up its price forecasts, a factor that may fuel speculation of policy adjustment to come as soon as July this year, Bloomberg News reported. Growth in consumer prices excluding fresh food is expected to have re-accelerated in April after a recent cooling. Meanwhile, a deeper measure of the trend that also excludes energy costs is expected to reach its highest level in 41 years, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Japan’s imports fell for the first time in more than two years as commodity prices softened, cushioning the impact from a global economic slowdown that is weighing on exports, Bloomberg News reported. The value of imports decreased 2.3% from a year earlier in April, led by a decline in crude oil and liquid natural gas shipments, the finance ministry reported Thursday. The reading turned negative for the first time since January 2021, and was worse than analysts’ forecast of a 0.6% decline.

New Zealand on Thursday announced a worse-than-forecast budget deficit as a slowing economy and a lower tax take hit its coffers, leaving the Labour government walking a tight rope as its spending plan is expected to fan inflationary pressures, Reuters reported. In his last budget ahead of what is set to be a close-run election in October, finance minister Grant Robertson announced billions towards rebuilding infrastructure following severe weather events at the start of the year and towards helping those struggling with increased living costs.

The Australian arm of Binance, the world's largest crypto-currency exchange, on Thursday said some customers there will be unable to deposit or withdraw money after a third-party service provider cut off its service, Reuters reported. Binance said on social media that users would be unable to make Australian dollar deposits by bank transfer with immediate effect after payments provider Cuscal cut access. Withdrawals would also be cut off, it said, without detailing when.

Australia employment unexpectedly dipped in April after two months of outsized gains, and the jobless rate also ticked up in a sign the red-hot labour market might be cooling, bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes next month, Reuters reported. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday showed net employment fell by 4,300 in April from March, when it rebounded by a revised 61,100. Market forecasts had been for a rise of 25,000.

Chile’s economy picked up at the start of the year, growing at the fastest pace since the end of 2021 amid an expansion in service industries, the central bank said, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product grew 0.8% in the first quarter from the prior three months and fell 0.6% from a year before. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected 1% expansion quarter-on-quarter and a 0.9% contraction year-on-year. Fourth-quarter growth was revised to 0.2% quarter-on-quarter from 0.1%.

The International Monetary Fund's executive board has approved a long-awaited $3 billion bailout for Ghana in hopes of combating the country’s economic crisis, the Associated Press reported. The arrangement will allow for the immediate release of $600 million, with the remaining funds to be made available over the course of the next three years, the IMF said in a statement Wednesday. Facing soaring inflation, high debt and a weakening currency, Ghana's government began negotiations with the IMF last July for a bailout package.

Company insolvencies in England and Wales last month were sharply lower than a year earlier after a big rise in March, although they remained higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Some 1,685 companies were registered insolvent in April, down 15% from the same month a year earlier and almost a third lower than in March, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures from the British government's Insolvency Service.

The European Banking Authority has been holding talks on ways to boost investor interest in the AT1 market after Switzerland’s shock decision to wipe out about $17 billion of Credit Suisse Group AG notes, Bloomberg News reported. The EBA earlier this month addressed ideas such as a ban on banks paying dividends before they consider skipping an AT1 coupon to preserve capital during times of stress, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing the private information.

UBS Group AG was rushed into buying cross-town rival Credit Suisse Group AG in a deal it did not want, as a global bank crisis worsened the latter's finances and prompted authorities to take swift action, a regulatory filing showed, Reuters reported. UBS, in a Tuesday filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, told investors it had less than four days to conduct due diligence given the "emergency circumstances". It estimated a hit of about $17 billion from the takeover. Switzerland's biggest bank agreed to buy its smaller rival after the latter had endured a difficult year.