Headlines

Terraform Labs Pte. co-founder Do Kwon will be handed over to the US for prosecution, the government of Montenegro said, potentially ending a standoff over competing extradition demands by the US and Kwon’s native South Korea, Bloomberg News reported. “Most criteria envisaged by the law are in favor of the extradition demands from the institutions of the United States of America,” the Montenegro’s Justice Ministry said in statement posted on its website. It said Minister Bojan Bozovic made the decision on Friday, without specifying when the handover may take place.

Saudi Cable Co. (SCC) issued a clarification regarding the ruling of Turkey's appeal court to overturn the bankruptcy (liquidation) decision previously issued against Elimsan, its subsidiary in Turkey, Argaam.com reported. In a statement to Tadawul, the company said its board decided on Oct. 11, 2021, to take the necessary actions to protect Elimsan Salt Cihazlari ve Elektromekanik San ve Tic A.S. by applying the debt protection law (financial restructuring). Elimsan is 94% owned by Mas Kablo, a subsidiary, which is 100% owned by Saudi Cable. On Feb.

Bad loan ratios in Indian banks are expected to worsen after falling to multi-year lows as stretched asset valuations, high public debt and prolonged geopolitical conflicts pose risks to financial stability, the Reserve Bank of India said in a report, Bloomberg News reported. Gross non-performing assets ratio of Indian banks will likely climb to 3% in March 2026, from 2.6% in September this year, according to the Financial Stability Report published by RBI on Monday.

South Korea's factory output fell more sharply than expected in November, government data showed on Monday, amid slowing exports and weakening business confidence, Reuters reported. The industrial output index fell 0.7% over the month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after no change in the prior month. That compared with a fall of 0.4% forecast in a Reuters survey of economists. On an annual basis, the index was up 0.1%, according to Statistics Korea, slower than gains of 6.3% the month before and 0.4% expected by economists.

Inflation in Spain rose for a fourth straight month, a signal to European Central Bank policymakers that price pressures remain ahead of its first meeting of 2025 next month, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 2.8% in December compared with the same month of 2023, up from 2.4% in November, according to European Union harmonized data published Monday by Spanish statistics agency INE. Base effects in energy drove the rise, though core inflation—a measure of underlying inflationary trends that excludes food and energy prices—also ticked up in December, INE said.

Russia’s Gazprom PJSC will halt natural gas supplies to Moldova starting on Jan. 1 due to an alleged debt impasse amid a state of emergency in the Eastern European nation’s energy sector, Bloomberg News reported. The notification sent to Moldovagaz on Saturday said the company “regularly fails to fulfill its payment obligations under the existing contract, which is a significant breach of its terms,” the Russian gas giant said in statement on Telegram. Gas flows to Moldova will be reduced to zero from 8 a.m. Moscow time on Jan.

After months of rancor, ties between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Brazil's central bank look poised for an era of sweetness and light - which is precisely what worries some investors, Reuters reported. Gabriel Galipolo, 42, is set to take the reins at the bank on Wednesday. The former deputy finance minister has earned a reputation for economic views that sometimes stray from his predecessor's embrace of free markets but warm the hearts of left-leaning politicians.

Global property catastrophe reinsurance rates will fall 5% to 15% on Jan. 1 for books of businesses which have not suffered losses, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said on Monday, as the market becomes more competitive after years of rate rises, Reuters reported. Reinsurers insure the insurers, and have raised prices and excluded some business in recent years following increased losses from wars and natural catastrophes. However, reinsurers have become more willing to take on risk after enjoying strong profits, Guy Carpenter, a unit of Marsh McLennan said.

Shares of South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air hit their lowest on record on Monday, after the deadliest air crash in the country killed 179 people, Reuters reported. Jeju Air shares traded down 8.5% as of 0312 GMT, after falling as much as 15.7% earlier in the session to 6,920 won, the lowest since they were listed in 2015. The share slide on Monday wiped out as much as 95.7 billion won ($65.2 million) in market capitalisation. Shares of AK Holdings, the holding company of Jeju Air, fell as much as 12% and hit their lowest in 16 years.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has acquired technology-driven and oncology-focused healthcare platform Karkinos for Rs 375 crore, the firm said on Saturday. Reliance Strategic Business Ventures (RSBVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mumbai-listed India's most valuable company, completed the acquisition of Karkinos Healthcare Pvt Ltd with allotment of requisite shares, the firm said in a stock exchange filing, the Economic Times of India reported.