Headlines

Jonjua Overseas Limited is set to convene a Board Meeting on May 1, 2026, to evaluate the potential submission of an Expression of Interest (EOI) concerning the insolvency proceedings of Telephone Cables Limited, WhalesBook.com reported. The company is exploring a strategic expansion into distressed asset resolution, with the possibility of forming a consortium for this endeavor. An official announcement on April 28, 2026, confirmed that Jonjua Overseas Limited's Board of Directors will meet on May 1, 2026.

The United Arab Emirates will exit OPEC on May 1, in a major blow to the cartel that coordinates production among many of the world’s largest oil producers, particularly those in the Middle East, CNBC.com reported. The shock announcement Tuesday comes after the UAE was the target of missile and drone attacks for weeks by fellow OPEC member Iran. Tehran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has also severely constrained the UAE’s ability to export oil, threatening the foundation of its economy. The UAE has played an influential role in OPEC’s decisions over nearly six decades.

The European Union is looking into delaying repayments on billions in debt it took on during the pandemic, as countries search for more money to spend now on defense and advanced technologies, Bloomberg News reported. The European Commission, the EU executive’s arm, is preparing an analysis of the possibility, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Several countries, including France, have already urged the EU to push back the payments, which are set to begin in 2028, arguing that tightening budgets and urgent spending needs should take priority.

The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady on Tuesday but three of its nine-member ​board proposed hiking borrowing costs, signalling policymakers' concerns over inflationary pressures from the Middle East conflict, Reuters reported. The central bank also sharply revised up its price forecasts and ‌stressed vigilance to the risk of an inflation overshoot, signaling a strong chance of a rate hike in coming months.

Foreign-based automakers have warned the Trump administration that they are looking at pulling their cheapest car models out of the U.S. market if the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement isn’t renewed or is watered down, the Wall Street Journal reported. Companies such as Nissan, Hyundai and Toyota are among the few carmakers to offer U.S. consumers new models of small, affordable automobiles after Detroit-based automakers ditched such cars in recent years in favor of SUVs and trucks.

Rising oil and natural gas prices from the war in Iran are beginning to weigh on the Chinese economy, further slowing already anemic consumer spending and hurting critical export sectors, the New York Times reported. Car sales fell in March and plunged further in April. Restaurants and hotels are seeing fewer customers as households turn cautious. In southern China, thousands of toy factory workers protested last week after their employer collapsed under rising plastic costs and ongoing tariffs in the United States.

Spain’s unemployment rate climbed back to a double-digit figure in the first quarter, as job losses almost doubled compared with the same period of 2025, in what is typically the weakest part of the year for the country’s seasonal jobs market, the Wall Street Journal reported. Unemployment rose to 10.83% in the January-March period, from 9.93% in the final quarter of last year, Spain’s statistics agency INE said Tuesday.

Eurozone households expect inflation to be much higher over the coming year than they did before the onset of the conflict in the Middle East, a worrying sign for officials at the European Central Bank as they prepare to set interest rates, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to a survey of 19,000 adults conducted between March 5 and March 30, consumer prices are expected to rise by 4% over the next 12 months, a jump from the 2.5% expected in February. The U.S. and Israel launched their first attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

Profits at China's industrial firms grew ​at their quickest pace in half a year last month, adding to broader signs of ‌an uneven economic recovery in the first quarter as policymakers brace for the impact of the Middle East war, Reuters reported. The country's export engine stuttered last month while retail sales and industrial output cooled, although producer prices emerged from a years-long deflationary stretch, ​a shift that analysts warn could leave companies boxed in by rising costs but limited ​pricing power as demand remains fragile.

Canada is developing a government-owned investment fund, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday, the Associated Press reported. Carney said that the fund would invest in major Canadian industrial projects, in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology. It will begin at 25 billion Canadian dollars ($18 billion). The prime minister said that the federal government will provide funds alongside private investors. The money will help finance projects that Carney's government is focused on building, as Canada seeks to diversify away from the United States. U.S.