Headlines

A surge in food and fuel prices is raising pressure on governments around the world to pick up the tab for consumers, stretching precarious public finances and intensifying political instability in the shakiest economies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Spooked by protests that have broken out recently from Bangkok to Sicily, many governments have adopted subsidies or tax breaks to shield households and businesses from the soaring prices. Yet the handouts are boosting already high government debt just as borrowing costs are rising.

The European Union said on Monday it has widened access for U.S. exchanges and clearing houses to investors in the bloc, a move which contrasts with Brussels' intention to shut off clearing houses in London in 2025, Reuters reported. The EU's executive European Commission said a number of exchanges in the United States which trade derivatives and are supervised by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can now be used by investors from the EU. It also broadened EU market access for U.S. clearing houses, also known as central counterparties or CCPs, to allow EU investors to clear U.S.

Sri Lanka will appoint a former central bank official in charge of foreign-exchange management as the new chief, who will be steering the nation through a severe shortage of dollars that is stoking inflation, fomenting street protests and roiling the government, Bloomberg News reported. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe expects to take over as Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka April 7, he said by phone from Australia. The development was confirmed by the monetary authority’s spokeswoman.

A U.K. financial adviser who owed more than £350,000 to clients for services he never provided has been served with a nine-year restriction by the Insolvency Service, the Financial Times reported. Marc Jones worked as a self-employed adviser in Cardiff from January 2012 until October 2018, after which he worked on behalf of a financial institution selling various financial products for a year. The regulator said when Jones worked for himself, he “failed” to supply his customers with services they had paid for.

Spain's labour market withstood soaring inflation and a crippling truckers' strike in March to see a drop in unemployment, data showed on Monday, helped in part by reforms aimed at cutting the use of temporary contracts, Reuters reported. The number of people registering as jobless in Spain slipped 0.09% in March from February, or by 2,921 people, leaving 3.11 million people out of work, Labour Ministry data showed. Spain added 23,998 net jobs during the month, a 0.12% rise from February.

Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. has completed its acquisition of majority stakes in two electric arc furnace steelmakers in Thailand, paying about $477 million in total, it said on Monday, Reuters reported. The company, Japan's biggest steelmaker, said in January that it will buy Thai steelmakers G Steel PCL and G J Steel PCL in a deal worth up to $763 million, seeking to cut its reliance on blast furnaces that use coking coal and emit carbon dioxide.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has proposed changes to regulations to ensure a time-bound grievance redressal and enforcement mechanism, including reducing timelines with respect to disciplinary proceedings. Various amendments have been mooted by the IBBI, a key institution in implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), with respect to norms for grievance redressal and enforcement mechanism for the service providers registered with it.

Britain’s insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into P&O Ferries to look into the company’s decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month, business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Friday, Reuters reported reported. The probe comes after P&O Ferries admitted to breaking the law in the manner in which it terminated about 800 staff last month to hire cheaper agency workers, a move that has since caused major backlash from politicians and workers.

At least a hundred companies worldwide have delayed or pulled financing deals worth more than $45 billion since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported. These include initial public offerings, bonds or loans and acquisitions. U.S. equity market deals were the worst hit by global volatility in the first quarter as a crop of firms postponed listings, while Japanese and European debt markets also suffered from delays.

Europe vowed to stay united against Russia's demand that they pay for its gas in roubles, as the threat of an imminent supply halt eased on Friday, Reuters reported. European capitals have been bracing for a disruption to gas imports as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks retaliation over Western sanctions for the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Some buyers and governments were working on ways to potentially pay for gas in roubles as Moscow in recent days has raised the spectre of cutting gas supply if its payment terms are not met.