Headlines

National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Friday, stayed the initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Reliance Infrastructure as it was informed that the company had settled the due amount, the Economic Times of India reported. NCLAT also stayed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order, which admitted Reliance Infra into insolvency over unpaid debt of around ₹90 crore.

Brazilian petrochemical group Unigel is considering filing for judicial recovery (bankruptcy protection) to facilitate a new round of capitalization, ValorInternational.com has learned. The company has already signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with potential investors, who have until October to review its financial data and business turnaround plans. According to sources close to the informal talks, one interested group has made its investment conditional on a bankruptcy filing, a condition Unigel has not resisted.

A slight easing in Japan’s consumer inflation is welcome news for the central bank, but stubbornly high food prices will be of concern for policymakers whose hands remain tied by tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Core consumer prices, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 3.3% from a year earlier in June, government data showed Friday. That compared with May’s 3.7% rise, and matched the forecast in a poll of economists by data provider Quick.

Moody’s Ratings upgraded Argentina’s credit ratings and upped its outlook, citing stabilizing and disinflationary macroeconomic reforms, the Wall Street Journal reported. The ratings agency upped the country’s long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings and local currency issuer ratings to Caa1 from Caa3 and changed Argentina’s outlook to stable from positive. Moody’s said that the government’s release of distortive exchange controls and reduction in government spending have attracted investment and resulted in real wage increases and greater availability of credit.

China's commerce ministry called on Canada to correct the "wrong practice" of restrictions on steel imports and said in a statement on Friday it would take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms, Reuters reported.

Indonesia is still negotiating details of its recently-reached trade deal with the United States after Washington lowered tariff rates on the Southeast Asian country, and is pursuing exemptions for its exports of palm oil and nickel, an official said on Friday, Reuters reported. The two countries reached a trade deal this week that led to a reduction in the threatened U.S. proposed tariff rate to 19% from 32%. The deal was one of only a handful reached so far by the Trump administration ahead of the August 1 negotiation deadline with numerous countries.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Friday that risks related to trade tensions continue to cloud the global economic outlook and uncertainty remains high despite some increased trade and improved financial conditions, Reuters reported. IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said the fund would update its global forecast later in July given "front-loading ahead of tariff increases and some trade diversion," along with improved financial conditions and signs of continued declines in inflation.

Major automakers should push for "rational competition" in the electric vehicle industry, a senior Chinese official said on Thursday, according to a statement from the industry ministry published on Friday, Reuters reported. The comments from Che Jun, head of a Communist Party central leading group, came a day after China's cabinet pledged to regulate what it called "irrational" competition in the EV market and vowed to strengthen price-monitoring. Che Jun spoke at a meeting attended by officials from the industry ministry and representatives from automakers BYD and BAIC Group.

The European Union agreed to impose its toughest sanctions on Russia since its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, blocking attempts to revive the Nord Stream gas pipelines, lowering a price cap for Russian oil sales and hitting banks from third countries in a move that could exacerbate tensions with China, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sanctions package comes as President Trump has started increasing pressure on the Kremlin after months of seeking a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. The White House now appears closer to the European view that the Kremlin won’t end the war.

A video game composer and sound designer best know for his work on the Tomb Raider series has been jailed for fraudulently applying for a Covid loan, CityAM reported. Peter Connelly, who is based in Durham, overstated his company’s turnover to obtain a second Bounce Back Loan of £37,500 in 2020 when businesses were only entitled to a single loan. Connelly had previously secured a legitimate Bounce Back Loan worth £22,000 one month earlier. The 52-year-old, of Lambton Court, Peterlee, was jailed for 16 months at a hearing of Durham Crown Court on Thursday, 17 July.