Headlines

Brazil's economic activity increased by 2.9% in 2022, according to a central bank index released on Thursday, boosted by the services sector and defying earlier predictions of mild growth, but with recent months' performance showing loss of momentum, Reuters reported. After starting the previous year with a forecast of a 0.3% expansion for the Brazilian economy in 2022, private economists surveyed weekly by the central bank now project 3% growth, on the back of resilient services activity and a stronger labor market.

Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill signaled policy makers are ready to reduce the speed of their interest rate increases, saying there’s a risk of “overtightening” if the pace over the past few months is maintained, Bloomberg news reported. The official who sits on the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee also said the labor market has shown signs of loosening, a suggestion that upward pressure on inflation from pay rises may be easing.

Activist investors are renewing their years-long efforts to break up some of Germany's most venerable companies, seeing streamlining as a promising route to reviving share prices as Europe's top economy emerges from the energy crisis, Reuters reported. This week Brenntag, founded in 1874 as an egg trader in Berlin, became the latest target of investors, who called for the chemicals distributor to spin off its specialties unit. Bayer BAYGn.DE, Fresenius FREG.DE and Thyssenkrupp TKAG.DE have seen similar demands to release value.

Thousands of retirees confronted local officials and the police outside a popular park in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to demand the repeal of recent cuts in government-provided medical insurance for seniors, the New York Times reported. The protest on Wednesday, the second in Wuhan in a week, was the latest sign of strain on the finances of China’s local governments, which are responsible for covering much of the cost of everything from health care to heating homes.

Thousands of people went on strike and took to the streets Thursday to protest French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the country’s retirement age, turning up the pressure on his government as parliamentary debates over the measures intensify, the Wall Street Journal reported. For the fifth time in four weeks, teachers, train drivers, nurses, oil-refinery staff and other workers marched in demonstrations from Paris to Marseille. The protests are aimed at pressuring the Macron government to reverse a plan to raise the retirement age to 64 years old from 62 by 2030.

The number of firms falling into insolvency increased in January against the same month last year, according to official figures, the Independent reported. Total company insolvencies in England and Wales hit 1,671 over the first month of 2023, the Insolvency Service said. It represented a 7% rise against January 2022 and was 11% above pre-pandemic levels from 2020. Experts said the rise pointed towards the toll of higher borrowing costs and continued elevated levels of inflation for businesses.

Mexican airline Aeromar announced the "definitive end" of operations on Wednesday, as the heavily indebted company failed to reach agreements with providers and a rumored potential investor, Reuters reported. The struggling company is the latest in a string of Mexican airlines hit with major financial woes in recent years, following Interjet in 2020 and Aeromexico, which came out of bankruptcy proceedings last March. Like its peers, Aeromar was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but had shown signs of financial struggles before.

Investors are losing faith in Brazil’s corporate borrowers in the aftermath of Americanas SA’s implosion, defying reassurances that the century-old retailer’s collapse was a one-off with no broader implications, Bloomberg News reported. Instead, in just the few weeks since the default, power company Light SA, clothing retailer Marisa Lojas SA and travel-agency CVC Brasil have all hired advisers to restructure their debt.

British inflation fell by more than expected in January and there were signs of cooling price pressure in parts of the economy watched closely by the Bank of England, adding to signs that further hefty interest rate hikes are unlikely, Reuters reported. Annual consumer price inflation (CPI) cooled to 10.1% last month, the lowest reading since September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday.

Adani Enterprises, the flagship listed vehicle of the beleaguered Adani Group conglomerate, has long pitched itself as a good environmental, social and governance company—but it has coal to thank for a reprieve during the most turbulent time in its history, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. On Tuesday, Adani Enterprises swung to a profit of 8.2 billion Indian rupees ($99.3 million) in the quarter ended in December, from a loss of 116.3 million Indian rupees in the year-earlier period, helped by robust revenue growth of 42%.