Headlines

Swedish landlord SBB has launched a major overhaul of its debt structure as it prepares to fight a landmark litigation case against US hedge fund Fir Tree Partners in London next month, Bloomberg News reported. Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB, as the company is officially known, is planning to issue at least €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion) of new bonds that existing noteholders can exchange with their current securities.

Another human pandemic could cause economic losses of $13.6 trillion for the global economy over a five-year period, commercial insurance market Lloyd's of London predicted, Reuters reported. The impact would mainly be from disruption across global industries due to local lockdowns and worldwide travel restrictions, Lloyd's said on Wednesday. The analysis by Lloyd's and the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies said that the most severe scenario could cause losses of $41.7 trillion, equivalent to a reduction in global GDP of 1.1%-6.4%. The least severe would lead to a $7.3 trillion loss.

Thailand unveiled a fresh set of debt-relief measures to cover millions of retail borrowers and small businesses struggling to repay loans, the latest bid by authorities to tackle the highest level of household debt in Southeast Asia, Bloomberg News reported.

The Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate by half a percentage point today but signalled a slower pace of rate cuts moving forward, the Canadian Press reported. The decision marked the fifth consecutive reduction since June and brings the central bank’s key rate down to 3.25 per cent. Forecasters were widely expecting the jumbo interest rate cut after the November labour force survey showed the unemployment rate rose to 6.8 percent.

China's top leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken in 2025 as they brace for higher U.S. trade tariffs as Donald Trump returns to the White House, Reuters reported. The contemplated move reflects China's recognition that it needs bigger economic stimulus to combat Trump's threats of punitive trade measures. Trump has said that he plans to impose a 10% universal import tariff, and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports into the United States.

France has a debt problem, but the European Union in aggregate does not. French lawmakers last week ousted a prime minister for the first time in more than a half-century, the Wall Street Journal reported. Central to the paralysis that has gripped French politics is the government’s rising debt, which the ousted prime minister was proposing to tame through a combination of tax rises and spending cuts. It would seem like an unusual time for investment manager Pimco to declare its preference for European over U.S. government bonds.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is preparing to deal with the fallout resulting from a major international trade war in the coming years, but the central bank’s deputy governor, Andrew Hauser, said it’s best to avoid prejudging the consequences for Australia, the Wall Street Journal reported. The impact that higher tariffs around the world will have on Australia’s inflation is “ambiguous,” in large part because it depends on a far wider set of considerations than the imposition of U.S. trade restrictions alone, Hauser told a meeting of economists on Wednesday.

The Biden administration transferred $20 billion to Ukraine on Tuesday, providing an urgently needed economic lifeline in the form of a loan that will be repaid using interest earned from Russia’s frozen central bank assets, the New York Times reported. The transfer of the funds comes as Ukraine is facing a period of grave uncertainty with President-elect Donald J. Trump poised to take office next month and Russia’s war continuing unabated. Mr.

Egypt plans to offer stakes in at least 10 state-held companies next year, including four affiliated with the military, pressing forward with an International Monetary Fund-backed drive to reduce the government’s role in the economy, Bloomberg News reported. The firms, which include AlexBank and Banque du Caire, will either be offered to strategic investors or on the local stock market, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday in a televised press conference.

GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. and Abra Group Limited have announced a key step in GOL’s financial restructuring journey, AviationSourceNews.com reported. The airline will file an initial proposed chapter 11 reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The filing marks a critical step in addressing its financial challenges and positioning the airline for future growth. This strategic move follows a comprehensive Plan Support Agreement (PSA) signed on November 6, 2024, which involves GOL, Abra Group, their affiliated entities, and the unsecured creditors committee.