Headlines

Two Bank of England officials warned that Britain’s departure from the European Union is helping to stoke inflation and is one of the factors pushing up interest rates, Bloomberg News reported. Chief Economist Huw Pill said Monday the trade blow dealt by Brexit adds to risks of the UK economy overheating. Policy maker Catherine Mann earlier in the day said Brexit was a “unique” shock that’s fueling inflation in the UK.

British consumers would be limited to holding a maximum of 20,000 pounds ($24,000) each if the Bank of England goes ahead with a digital version of the British currency, BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Britain's government said on Monday that it and the BoE were pressing on with work on a possible digital pound that was likely to enter circulation in the second half of this decade, though no final decision has been made on whether to go ahead.

The absence of Chinese visitors devastated Thailand, where officials say tourism accounted for a fifth of gross domestic product in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported. About a quarter of arrivals that year came from China, bringing in 40% of international tourism revenue. By the time Thailand reopened its borders in October 2021, many businesses that relied wholly on the Chinese market had collapsed. China’s strict zero-Covid policy kept its citizens from traveling abroad until rules were eased in January, raising hopes for a surge of pent-up demand.

Canada's Hut 8 Mining Corp. will merge with rival US Bitcoin Corp. to create a crypto mining giant in North America, consolidating after a steep fall in valuations for the crypto sector that saw high-profile collapses in recent months, Reuters reported. The companies said the combined entity will have a market capitalization of around $990 million, and be equally owned by shareholders of both the companies. The merged entity, to be called Hut 8 Corp, will be listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq after the all-stock deal.

Moldova's central bank has cut its key interest rate to 17% from 20% as consumer price inflation has continued to slow, Central Bank Governor Octavian Armasu said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Armasu said the central bank expected consumer price inflation to slow to 13.7% this year after peaking in 2022. He noted inflation slowed to 30.2% in December compared with 34.6% in October last year. "The decision is based on disinflationary processes in the short term and it is aimed at supporting the national economy and businesses," he told a news briefing.

Potential buyers are inquiring about purchasing the struggling crypto lender Hodlnaut and its claims against bankrupt digital-asset exchange FTX, Bloomberg News reported. “Various parties who are interested in acquiring” Singapore-based Hodlnaut’s crypto platform and FTX claims have contacted the interim judicial managers overseeing the company after it sought protection from creditors, according to an affidavit seen by Bloomberg News. The judicial managers are in the process of signing non-disclosure agreements with the potential investors, the document shows.

Two of Europe’s biggest airline groups are in talks with administrators of Flybe over an audacious bid to resurrect the stricken regional airline, the Telegraph reported. Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are understood to be in talks to acquire the carrier out of insolvency after it collapsed into bankruptcy for the second time in three years. Administrators from Interpath may have just days to agree to a rescue that would avoid the business being wound up and the Flybe name disappearing from airports for good, according to City sources.

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd jumped nearly 25% on Monday after the Indian government allowed the carrier to convert the $2 billion interest on dues owed to the sovereign into equity, which could free up some cash flows in the near term, Reuters reported. India had in 2021 approved a bailout package for the debt-strapped telecom companies, allowing them to convert interest on deferred adjusted gross revenue owed to the government into equity.

EU lawmakers hope to agree on draft artificial intelligence rules next month, with the aim of clinching a deal with EU countries by the end of the year, one of the legislators steering the AI Act said, Reuters reported. The European Commission proposed the AI rules in 2021 in an attempt to foster innovation and set a global standard for a technology, used in everything from self-driving cars and chatbots to automated factories, currently led by China and the United States.

Britain's financial watchdog warned crypto businesses on Monday to get ready for a rule change on advertising later in the year, warning that any breaches by company officials could mean up to two years in prison, Reuters reported. Britain's finance ministry said last week it would set out secondary legislation this year to allow crypto firms which comply with the Financial Conduct Authority's anti-money laundering safeguards to issue their own promotions until new crypto regulation is introduced, probably sometime in 2024.