Headlines

China local governments are rushing to issue bonds to refinance hidden debt, further tightening liquidity in the financial system, Bloomberg News reported. Regional authorities are set to sell 1.7 trillion yuan (S$313 billion) of bonds in the first two months of 2025, an unprecedented amount for the period, data compiled by Bloomberg show. About half of the issuance, or 850 billion yuan, is to replace off-balance sheet debt, according to the data. The unusually big offering has exacerbated a cash squeeze this year, as banks rush to absorb the securities.

Brazilian airline Azul expects to go "back to basics" and be able to focus more on its operations this year, Chief Executive John Rodgerson said, after a challenging 2024 marked by some market disruptions and a major debt restructuring, Reuters reported. "I am excited about 2025. It can't be worse than 2024," he told Reuters in an interview as the carrier reported on Monday fourth-quarter core earnings slightly above market expectations, with full-year figures matching its previously released outlook.

Mexico’s annual inflation accelerated roughly in line with economists’ forecasts in early February, holding near the central bank’s estimates and keeping chances of a sixth straight interest rate cut in play, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Monday showed consumer prices rose 3.74% in the first two weeks of the month from the year before, just below the 3.77% median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and up from the 3.48% reading in late January.

The European Central Bank may have to lower its key rate to a level that stimulates activity if the eurozone economy remains weak and inflation cools, the head of Belgium’s central bank said in an interview, the Wall Street Journal reported. National Bank of Belgium Governor Pierre Wunsch, who is an ECB rate setter, also said a big increase in military spending to reduce Europe’s dependence on the U.S. could revive European factories that have too much capacity and too little demand.

A sweeping overhaul of how Indonesia runs its powerful state companies will create a multibillion-dollar investment vehicle run by close allies of President Prabowo Subianto, giving the new leader a major cache of funds to deploy in his effort to supercharge growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Bloomberg News reported.

Peru's gross domestic product (GDP) will likely expand by 4% this year and rank as the second-fastest growing economy in Latin America, a senior official told reporters on Monday, as inflation is seen holding for another year at around 2%, Reuters reported. The Andean economy is bouncing back from recession, with the government of President Dina Boluarte and the central bank forecasting positive prospects for 2025, including fewer inflationary pressures and more investment.

Tens of thousands of people could be living inside illegal scam compounds in Myanmar that have proliferated near Thailand’s border, according to the head of Thailand’s anti-trafficking agency, who warned it could take months before all foreign nationals are repatriated, The Guardian reported. Thailand has launched a major crackdown on scam compounds over recent weeks, cutting off cross-border electricity and fuel supplies.

Kremlin officials are dangling the prospect of lucrative investment deals for American energy companies, apparently seeking to convince President Trump that large economic gains could come from siding with Moscow in ending the war in Ukraine and scrapping economic sanctions on Russia, the New York Times reported. There is no doubt that Russia has vast troves of oil and natural gas, but an effort to lure American or other Western energy companies to undertake Russian projects is likely to encounter skepticism, not least because of the companies' recent history in Russia.

China’s distressed developers are increasingly asking local courts to drive their restructuring efforts, as weak home sales continue to weaken their ability to make headway or deliver on private debt workout plans, Bloomberg News reported. Chongqing Casin Property Development Group late last month became the newest among its peers to apply for the court to overhaul its debt. The move followed a Bloomberg News’ report that defaulter China Fortune Land Development is considering scrapping a creditor-approved debt plan for a court-led solution.

Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura &Co is in exclusive talks with asset manager IG4 for the potential sale of Avon's operations outside Latin America, it said on Thursday, sending its shares higher, Reuters reported.