Headlines

Sri Lanka abruptly restricted fuel supplies and told residents to stay home, raising the risk of more unrest as the government struggles to provide essential goods due to a crippling sovereign debt crisis that has rocked the country for months, Bloomberg News reported. The island nation’s cabinet of ministers Monday decided to limit distribution of fuel to essential services until July 10, spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said in a televised statement, adding that inter provincial public transport would likely come to a halt.

The list of emerging-markets countries facing debt distress is quickly mounting as global interest rates rise, according to World Bank Group Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart, Bloomberg News reported. “With the low income countries, debt risks and debt crises are not hypothetical. We’re pretty much already there,” Reinhart told Bloomberg Television Tuesday. “Debt crises need to be resolved through meaningful debt reduction. If not, it’s a band-aid and it’s a band-aid that wears off very quickly.” The remarks follow a similar warning from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The European Union is seeking ways to reduce natural-gas demand to avoid splintering energy markets as dwindling supplies from Russia test the bloc’s unity in response to the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported. An increase in gas supply disruptions following the EU’s sanctions on Russia is prompting member countries to step up winter preparations as they seek to refill depleted storage sites At a meeting of ministers on Monday in Luxembourg, EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson urged more energy savings and efficiency to reduce the threat of gas rationing.

Hong Kong's financial watchdog is tightening oversight on derivatives markets after the collapse of Archegos Capital Management, a senior official at the city's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Archegos, a U.S.-based family office of investor Bill Hwang which had $36 billion in assets, blew up last year when it was caught short on highly leveraged trades and left global banks with $10 billion in losses.

Legislation allowing Britain to scrap some of the rules on post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland on Monday passed the first of many parliamentary tests, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson pressed on with plans that have angered the European Union, Reuters reported. Despite some fierce criticism, lawmakers voted 295 to 221 in favour of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would unilaterally overturn part of Britain's divorce deal from the EU agreed in 2020. The bill now proceeds to line-by-line scrutiny.

A family-owned transport, trucking and railroad company in Bristol has collapsed into administration, Business Live UK reported. Pucklechurch-based Toogood International Transport and Agricultural Services appointed Mark Boughey and Mike Field of business advisory firm Mazars as administrators on June 21. The business has ceased to trade and all staff have been made redundant. The firm employed around 10 staff, according to Companies House records. The administrators are now seeking a buyer for all or part of the company’s business and assets.

Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in a century, the culmination of ever-tougher Western sanctions that shut down payment routes to overseas creditors, Bloomberg News reported. For months, the country found paths around the penalties imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. But at the end of the day on Sunday, the grace period on about $100 million of snared interest payments due May 27 expired, a deadline considered an event of default if missed.

Leading economic powers conferred by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday as they underscored their commitment to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” with plans to pursue a price cap on Russian oil, raise tariffs on Russian goods and impose other new sanctions, the Associated Press reported. In addition, the U.S. was preparing to announce the purchase of an advanced surface-to-air missile system for Kyiv to help Ukraine fight back against Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

Investment holding firm Top Shine Global Ltd has decided to file a winding-up petition against China Evergrande Group as the embattled property developer did not repurchase shares in its unit Fangchebao from investors, a senior executive said, Reuters reported. Top Shine filed the petition on Friday, a record at the Hong Kong High Court showed. Fangchebao is a Chinese online real estate and automobile marketplace owned by Evergrande. The unit was planning an IPO in Hong Kong.

China’s economy showed some improvement in June as Covid restrictions were gradually eased, although the recovery remains muted, Bloomberg News reported. That’s the outlook based on Bloomberg’s aggregate index of eight early indicators for this month. The overall gauge returned to the neutral level after deteriorating for two straight months. Economic activity picked up in June after financial hub Shanghai lifted its lockdown, allowing businesses to restart and most residents to leave their homes.