Headlines

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered its 2022 economic growth forecasts for Latin America and its two largest economies, citing inflation, tighter monetary policy and a lower growth estimate for the United States as keys to the downgrades, Reuters reported. The IMF reduced its growth expectations for Mexico and Brazil by 1.2 percentage points each to 2.8% and 0.3% respectively, while the estimate for Latin America and the Caribbean was cut by 0.6 percentage point to 2.4%.

Australia's core inflation flew to its fastest annual pace since 2014 in the December quarter as fuel and housing costs led broad-based price pressures, a shock that will stoke market speculation of an early hike in interest rates, Reuters reported. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Tuesday showed the headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.3% in the fourth quarter and 3.5% for the year, topping forecasts. The trimmed mean measure of core inflation favoured by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) jumped 1.0% in the quarter, the largest increase since 2008.

Singapore's central bank tightened its monetary policy settings on Tuesday in its first out-of-cycle move in seven years, as global supply constraints and brisk economic demand elevate inflation pressures across the region, Reuters reported. The city-state's trade-dependent economy is highly susceptible to swings in global inflation and the central bank's sudden move comes as price pressures ring alarm bells for policymakers elsewhere in Asia.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte further eased the Netherlands’ coronavirus lockdown, allowing bars, restaurants, museums, theaters and other venues to reopen from Wednesday for the first time this year, the Associated Press reported. But Rutte warned that the move wasn’t without risks. “We are taking a big step today to unlock the Netherlands while the infections numbers are really going through the roof,” Rutte said Tuesday.

The Group of 20 countries need to step up their efforts to help low-income countries deal with high levels of debt, the No. 2 official at the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath told reporters that 60% of low-income countries were in or at high risk of debt distress, and would find it increasingly difficult to service their debts, and the G20 Common Framework needed to be revamped to deliver debt restructuring agreements more quickly.

A council gave almost £2m in 2021 to a firm it set up to cut the cost of running leisure services to stop it "becoming insolvent," BBC.com reported. Volair, which was launched in 2015 to cut Knowsley Council's annual £2m leisure spend, runs clubs in Halewood, Huyton, Kirkby and Stockbridge Village and a Prescot football centre. The firm said it had seen "significant shortfalls" due to Covid-19's impact. The council has not commented on the bailout.

Indian retailer Future Group on Tuesday challenged its own lenders in the Supreme Court to avoid facing insolvency proceedings over missing payments, citing its dispute with partner Amazon.com Inc , according to a legal filing reviewed by Reuters. Future, the country's second-largest retailer, has since 2020 failed to complete its $3.4 billion retail asset sale to a rival due to a row with Amazon, which argues the Indian group violated certain non-compete contractual terms the two sides had. Future denies any wrongdoing.

Chinese developer Yuzhou Group Holdings Co. said that it won’t pay off two dollar bonds due this week, meaning some events of default will occur, as builders continue to struggle meeting debt payments, Bloomberg News reported. The company earlier this month offered to swap the notes for new debt, and investors exchanged most of their holdings. There’s $104.9 million of combined principal remaining, Yuzhou said in a Monday stock exchange filing, and it’s opting not to pay that while planning to relaunch the exchange offer this week.

Turkish Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati told economists he expects the inflation rate to peak at about 40% in the months ahead and not to surpass 50% this year, Bloomberg News reported. Nebati provided his most detailed outlook yet for consumer prices in 2022 during a meeting with 60 economists and analysts on Saturday in Istanbul. The minister said the inflation rate may not fall below 30% until the end of the year. Turkey’s inflation rate hit 36.1% in December, the highest since the beginning of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 19-year rule.

Some Turkish manufacturing companies have halted production temporarily after Iran cut gas flows last week for up to 10 days due to a technical problem, Reuters reported. Companies affected include car parts maker Ege Endustri , cardboard manufacturer Kartonsan and defence and automotive parts maker Katmerciler. Turkey is almost fully dependent on imported gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, which suspended gas flows to the country last Thursday, saying there was a technical fault at a pressure-boosting station in Turkey.