Headlines

Ukraine's gross domestic product fell by 26% in February after a 32% drop in January, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a statement that economic activity had recovered in February because of a better situation in the energy sector and a lower energy deficit. "The 'energy war' won by Ukraine added to the optimism of businesses, which improved their sentiment about the future and intensified its activities," Svyrydenko said.

French energy infrastructure from natural gas import terminals to oil refineries and power plants were disrupted on Tuesday by protests against government plans to increase the retirement age, Bloomberg News reported. The labor protests are putting additional pressure on French energy supplies, which have been hit by prolonged outages at some nuclear reactors and reduced gas flows from Russia. A cold snap in the UK — which trades electricity with France — is temporarily adding strain to the region’s power grid.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s deal to solve the bitter dispute with the European Union over Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements has sparked hope in the City of London that the two sides could finally formalize a pledge to work together on setting rules for banks and financial markets, Bloomberg News reported. The so-called memorandum of understanding on financial rules may seem like a fairly low bar for such economically-tied neighbors. But in the recent history of post-Brexit relations, it would count for progress.

Britain's markets regulator and police have swooped on suspected illegal crypto cashpoints (ATMs) across east London as authorities step up attempts to disrupt unregistered businesses deemed high risk for consumers, Reuters reported. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which last month launched a similar crackdown in the northern English city of Leeds, said on Wednesday it was reviewing evidence gathered from "a number of sites" and might take further action.

A new Chinese financial watchdog will help bridge regulatory gaps but analysts and investors say the agency will consolidate power at the top and could introduce more state and party intervention, Reuters reported. In a major shake-up, China will set up the new regulatory body, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), according to a proposal that the State Council, or cabinet, presented to parliament on Tuesday.

China’s passenger car retail sales shrank almost 20% in the first two months of this year, underscoring the challenges facing manufacturers in the world’s largest but long-stuttering auto market, the Wall Street Journal reported. The nation’s auto makers sold 2.7 million passenger cars in January and February combined, according to the China Passenger Car Association, down from 3.3 million a year earlier. The association partly attributed the drop to the ending of tax cuts on autos that boosted sales during the pandemic, as well as the end of electric-vehicle subsidies.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said Sri Lanka had secured financing assurances from all its major bilateral creditors, paving the way for the IMF board to consider approval of a long-awaited $2.9 billion four-year bailout, Reuters reported. The IMF said its board will meet on March 20 to review a preliminary staff-level agreement first signed in September, offering a lifeline to the South Asian country which faces its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

The International Monetary Fund says its executive board has agreed to temporarily increase the limits on member countries' annual and cumulative access to IMF loan resources to help them cope with a particularly challenging and uncertain environment, Reuters reported. In an announcement late on Monday, the Fund said its cumulative lending limits were increased to 600% of a country's quota, or shareholding in the fund, from a previous limit of 435%. The 12-month borrowing limit was raised to 200% of quota from 145%.

Argentina will give investors the chance to exchange holdings of local debt into new bonds in a bid to ease fears of a default on the government’s $35 billion of local debt coming due in the second quarter, Bloomberg News reported. Economy Minister Sergio Massa said the government would offer investors two swap options to exchange local bonds coming due between April and June. The government is seeking to build the local bond curve to 2024 and 2025, Massa said in a broadcast video statement.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is scheduled to pass its judgement on Tuesday on Mumbai-based Suraksha group's bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech Ltd through the insolvency process, the Economic Times of India reported. In late November last year, the NCLT reserved its order on Suraksha group's bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech Ltd and complete around 20,000 flats for aggrieved homebuyers.