Headlines

China's cabinet on Wednesday held out the prospect of more measures to support an economy under pressure from a slowing global recovery, volatile commodity markets and COVID-19 outbreaks, Reuters reported. State media quoted the cabinet as saying it would roll out policies to stabilise market expectations in a timely way, without giving details. Analysts expect China's central bank to lower borrowing costs or pump more cash into the economy to spur growth.

French financial prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected tax fraud by American management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the Associated Press reported. The national financial prosecutor’s office said Wednesday the investigation was launched last week for alleged “money-laundering aggravated by tax fraud.” French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “shocked” by the suspicions of tax evasion on the part of consulting firms. “The response will be European, since we have passed a reform which will allow ...

Prime Minister Mario Draghi plans more borrowing to aid Italy’s economy, but also wants to shrink its huge debt pile by bringing down the deficit to the European Union’s limit within three years, Bloomberg News reported. That balancing act will be pursued with a shortfall of 5.6% of output in 2022, incorporating almost 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) of fresh spending to protect families and businesses from energy price spikes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the new economic and financial plan presented by Draghi and Finance Minister Daniele Franco in Rome on Wednesday.

The Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has initiated bankruptcy proceedings against Anand Divine Developers pvt ltd, a group company of realty developer ATS over dues of Rs 25 crore, the Economic Times of India reported. According to the NCLT order, ICICI prudential venture has moved the tribunal after the developer defaulted on payment. “In the present case, the corporate debtor has not filed any reply and written submissions till now.

Afreximbank said on Wednesday that it had set up a $4 billion trade finance programme to cushion economies and businesses on the continent against shocks arising from the war in Ukraine, that demand for financing already exceeds the amount, Reuters reported. Cairo-headquartered Afreximbank said its Ukraine Crisis Adjustment Trade Financing Programme for Africa was approved by its board at the end of March. It said the fund would extend to areas such as oil and metals buy-back financing, commodity export revenue stabilisation and tourism revenue deficit financing.

Public transport largely ground to a halt in the Greek capital on Wednesday and state-run services remained shuttered as workers walked off the job in a 24-hour general strike to protest rising prices, the Associated Press reported. The strike left ferries to and from Greek islands tied up in port, and left Athens without a subway, tram, trolley or suburban railway, while buses were to run for 12 hours from 9 a.m.

Despite strict economic sanctions, shrinking currency reserves and nervous banks, Russia has kept up with payments for government debt, confounding expectations from just a few weeks ago, when the ratings agencies believed a default was imminent and the government said it might repay its international loans in rubles, the New York Times reported. “People look at this and are scratching their heads,” said Michael Bolliger, the chief investment officer for emerging markets at UBS Global Wealth Management. He said they were asking: “How is this possible?

Euro zone business growth got a boost last month from the re-opening of economies following the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to a survey which however showed soaring energy costs and Russia's invasion of Ukraine threaten the recovery, Reuters reported. S&P Global's final composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), seen as a good guide to economic health, dipped to 54.9 in March from February's 55.5 but was ahead of a preliminary 54.5 estimate. "March's final euro zone PMI surveys confirmed that output expectations fell sharply, with Germany experiencing the biggest drop.

China reported a record number of local Covid-19 cases on Monday, as authorities extended a sweeping lockdown in Shanghai in an effort to curb the country’s worst outbreak in more than two years, the Wall Street Journal reported. China recorded more than 16,400 new local Covid cases for Monday, according to the National Health Commission, the highest daily tally in mainland China in more than two years. More than 80% of the latest daily cases were in Shanghai, the commission said on Tuesday.

Cuba is struggling to cover a fuel deficit as imports from Venezuela and other countries remain below historical levels and global prices boosted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine make purchases almost unaffordable, according to analysts and data, Reuters reported. The Caribbean country, which is dependent on fuel imports mostly from political ally Venezuela to cover more than half of its demand, is since last month dealing with diesel and gasoline shortages leading to long lines in front of stations.