Headlines

Greece's exit on Saturday from the European Union's so-called enhanced surveillance framework for its economy ends 12 years of pain and allows the country greater freedom in policy making, its prime minister said, Reuters reported. Greece's economic performance and policies have been closely monitored under the framework since 2018 to ensure it implemented reforms promised under three international bailouts - totalling more than 260 billion euros ($261 billion) - from the European Union and the IMF between 2010 and 2015.

For all the talk in Western capitals of reducing reliance on Chinese factories, China has in the past two years consolidated its position as the world’s dominant supplier of manufactured goods, the Wall Street Journal reported. Though some of China’s gains in global markets may unwind as the effects of the pandemic fade, the trend nonetheless highlights just how hard it is to unplug from the world’s largest factory floor.

U.K. inflation is on course to hit 18.6 per cent in January — the highest peak in almost half a century — because of soaring wholesale gas prices, according to a new forecast from Citigroup based on the latest market prices, the Irish Times reported. The investment bank predicted that the retail energy price cap would be raised to £4,567 (€5,386) in January and then £5,816 in April, compared with the current level of £1,971 a year — shifts it said would lead to inflation “entering the stratosphere”.

Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa tapped veteran economist Gabriel Rubinstein as secretary of economic planning, to help craft the policy response to a currency slump and the fastest inflation in three decades, Bloomberg News reported. Rubinstein, who has long run his own consulting firm, served on the central bank’s board during the administration of late President Nestor Kirchner in 2005, among other government roles. Massa, a career politician, was sworn in earlier this month.

Italy's outgoing government is pressing ahead with plans to sell a majority stake in ITA Airways and hopes to choose its preferred bidder by the end of the month, Reuters reported. The government had aimed to complete the part-privatisation of the successor to Alitalia over the summer, but asked the two rival consortia to review their initial offers as it deemed they did not meet its goals. They have until midnight (2200 GMT) on Monday to do so. Shipping group MSC and Germany's Lufthansa are facing a rival bid led by U.S.

New Zealand's government said on Monday it had transferred Kiwibank's assets to a new state-owned company, since the lender no longer fit within the long-term plans for two state entities that currently own it, Reuters reported. Kiwibank, which is New Zealand fifth-largest retail bank, was owned by state-owned entities New Zealand Post, Accident Compensation Corporation and sovereign wealth fund New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

China cut its benchmark lending rates on Monday, adding to easing measures announced last week, as Beijing steps up efforts to spur credit demand in an economy hobbled by a property crisis and a resurgence of COVID infections, Reuters reported. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 5 basis points to 3.65% at the central bank's monthly fixing, while the five-year LPR was slashed by a bigger margin of 15 basis points to 4.30%. In a Reuters poll conducted last week, 25 out of 30 respondents predicted a 10-basis-point reduction to the one-year LPR.

Cineworld Group Plc, the owner of Regal Cinemas, is preparing to file for bankruptcy within weeks after struggling to rebuild attendance from pandemic lows, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The British cinema company has engaged lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis LLP and consultants from AlixPartners to advise on the bankruptcy process, these people said. Cineworld is expected to file a chapter 11 petition in the U.S. and is considering filing an insolvency proceeding in the U.K., they said.

Cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut, which is mired in financial woes, said that there are “pending proceedings” between the firm and the Singapore authorities, although it did not reveal more, the Straits Times reported. In a statement issued on Friday, it said the proceedings involve the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Singapore Police Force, adding that it is unable to disclose any further information on the matter. In response to queries, the police said they are "unable to comment on the case as the matter is before the courts".

A panel of investors on Friday determined Ukraine had triggered a restructuring event after a two-year sovereign debt freeze, and a default insurance known as Credit Default Swap (CDS) should be payed, Reuters reported. The Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee (CDDC) said that its members voted 'yes' to a question to determine whether a "Restructuring Credit Event" occurred with respect to Ukraine and that a CDS auction should be held, according to a statement on its website. The committee still hasn't decided on the timing of the auction.