Headlines

German inflation surprisingly accelerated in February, further complicating the European Central Bank’s task after overshoots this week in other parts of the continent, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices advanced 9.3% from a year ago, up from January’s 9.2% gain, driven by services and food costs. The move came even as Germany moved to limit household heating bills that rocketed because of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The reading for Europe’s biggest economy puts more pressure on the ECB after French inflation hit a euro-era record and Spanish price growth defied estimates to moderate.

Italy posted firm economic growth of 3.7% last year but the budget deficit far exceeded official forecasts due to the cost of tax incentives for green buildings, national statistics bureau ISTAT reported on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Growth slowed from 7.0% (upwardly revised from 6.7%) in 2021 but it was in line with the government's most recent projection, as the euro zone's third largest economy held up better than expected during the first three quarters.

Peru's government announced on Tuesday the launch of more than 30 public-private projects worth nearly $9 billion, hoping to revive the economy hit by violent anti-government protests, Reuters reported. The projects, involving road infrastructure, energy and sanitation, are set to begin between this year and 2024, according to the head of the state's agency for investment promotion Jose Salardi, speaking at an event with investors. "The key is to regain confidence," Salardi said, adding the government is simplifying processes, standardizing contracts and coordinating with the private sector.

Omar Mejia, recently appointed deputy governor of Mexico's central bank, said on Wednesday the institution could consider slowing the pace of raising its key interest rate and the economy should continue to grow this year despite tight monetary policy, Reuters reported. "I believe that going forward we could consider slowing the pace of rate adjustments, as it is already very close to the appropriate level to consolidate a de-inflationary process," he said in a podcast interview with Grupo Financiero Banorte.

Canadian manufacturing activity expanded at a faster pace in February as measures of output and new orders both rose to nine-month highs, while inflation pressures continued to ease, data showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.4 in February from 51.0 in January, posting its highest level since July. Before January's reading, the index had been below the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction for five consecutive months.

The debt recovery agency Air Claim, which specializes in helping customers of airlines recover their money, asked in court for the insolvency of low-cost carrier Blue Air – now 75% controlled by the Romanian government, Romanian-Insider.com reported. The pre-insolvency period for the company ended on February 22. The court did not yet approve the request filed by Air Claim, according to Economica.net.

China’s banks and asset managers are turning to an old yet potentially risky accounting maneuver to attract buyers for their investment funds after a rout in the bond market triggered waves of redemptions last year, Bloomberg News reported. Banks including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Postal Savings Bank of China Co.’s wealth management units are rushing to sell new funds that value most assets based on adjusted costs rather than current market prices, masking day-to-day volatility.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted Mumbai-based KLT Group's subsidiary, Colour Roof India (CRIL), under the corporate insolvency resolution process and appointed Hemant Kumar Shah as the insolvency resolution professional, the Economic Times of India reported. The company is involved in design, development and supply of roof and wall cladding sheets. The NCLT's Mumbai bench admitted the company in an application filed by Phoenix ARC, which had approached the tribunal after the company allegedly failed to repay its dues of over ₹166 crore.

Credit Suisse Group AG failed in its duties as an asset manager and violated Swiss supervisory law in its operation of $10 billion in investment funds with now-bankrupt financing partner Greensill Capital Management, the Wall Street Journal reported. Switzerland’s financial regulator, Finma, outlined a range of measures the bank must take to improve governance and comply with Swiss rules. It said it opened enforcement proceedings against four former Credit Suisse managers. Finma doesn’t have any powers to impose direct financial penalties or to prosecute companies.

Indonesia is drawing on the structure of the stock market to revamp crypto trading and mitigate the risks exposed by the collapse of the FTX digital-asset exchange, Bloomberg News reported. A key plank of the plan is a proposed state-backed crypto bourse where private-sector platforms will execute trades, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, which currently oversees digital assets. “The hard part is we can’t find a benchmark for such a crypto bourse,” the agency’s head Noordiatmoko said in an interview.