Headlines

The Middle East crisis and prolonged U.S. interest rate hikes are squeezing Korea's construction sector, triggering massive job cuts at major companies and a surge in bankruptcies among smaller contractors, The Korea Times reported. Cost pressures have deepened due to the conflict in the Middle East, which has caused severe supply disruptions of naphtha, a key petrochemical feedstock, heightening the financial strain on builders. The broader economic downturn is driving the industry to downsize rapidly.

State Bank of India (SBI), on behalf of lenders to the bankrupt Aircel group, has approached the Supreme Court of India seeking a review of its February 13 judgment that barred telecom spectrum from being treated as an asset under insolvency proceedings, warning of far-reaching implications for the banking system and infrastructure financing, the Economic Times of India reported. In a review petition filed on March 30, SBI argued that the ruling contains “errors apparent on the face of the record” and fails to address key legal questions framed earlier by the court.

The Adani Group on Tuesday strongly defended the integrity of the resolution process in the Jaypee Associates insolvency matter before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), where Vedanta has challenged the decision of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) to approve Adani's bid, TribuneIndia.com reported. Senior Advocate Ritin Rai, appearing for the Adani Group, submitted that the challenge mechanism was conducted in a fair, transparent, and structured manner, with equal opportunity provided to all prospective resolution applicants.

Real estate asset resolution company ReaRCo Private Limited has acquired KV Developers through the insolvency resolution process, giving hope to nearly 400 homebuyers in Greater Noida who had invested in the project in 2013, the Economic Times of India reported. The firm has also secured Rs 195 crore from the government-backed SWAMIH Fund to complete the project. “Currently, construction of 646 units across five under-construction towers is underway to enable possession for existing homebuyers by the end of the year.

President Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. was considering offering financial support to the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich ally that has been contending with economic fallout from the war in Iran, the New York Times reported. The war has damaged oil and gas infrastructure throughout the Middle East, dealing a blow to economies that rely on the Strait of Hormuz to transport crude around the world. The U.A.E. is an unlikely recipient of economic support, and the fact that it has inquired about assistance demonstrates the cascading effects of the conflict.

Canada’s inflation rate surged to 2.4% in March as the Iran war triggered a record increase in gasoline prices, though it came in slightly lower than economists expected, Bloomberg News reported. Headline inflation was projected to quicken to 2.6% last month, up from 1.8% in February. Excluding gasoline, the consumer price index was up 2.2% from a year earlier. Monday’s inflation data provides the first glimpse into the impact on prices in Canada of the conflict in the Middle East. The Bank of Canada has signaled that it plans to look through the short-term impact of the oil shock.

India’s central bank governor warned of persistent inflation risks as the Middle East conflict continues, citing the country’s exposure to the region, the Wall Street Journal reported. “What began as a supply shock can become embedded in the general price level,” said Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra in a recent speech at Princeton University. “Second-round effects are the real concern,” he said. Such effects refer to spikes in costs that spill into goods and services prices and wages. These can turn a temporary shock into sustained, economy-wide price pressures.

Over the weekend, hackers stole more than $290 million in cryptocurrency from Kelp DAO, a protocol that allows users to earn yields on idle crypto investments, Decrypt.com reported. By Monday, LayerZero, one of the projects affected by the hack, accused North Korea of carrying out the heist. The hack is now the largest crypto theft of the year so far, following an earlier hack at crypto exchange Drift in April that netted hackers around $285 million.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that ‌Mexico is interested in reaching an ‌agreement, prior to completing the review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada ​trade pact, regarding the exchange of steel, aluminum and automobiles, Reuters reported. Sheinbaum spoke at a morning press conference as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer ‌visits Mexico for ⁠talks. "Obviously, we care a great deal about steel, aluminum, and automobiles," Sheinbaum ⁠said.

Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song, who began his four-year term Tuesday, delivered his first address in office prioritizing central bank digital currencies and bank-issued deposit tokens while omitting any mention of stablecoins, Decrypt.com reported.