Headlines

Getting ahead in global finance after Brexit needs sustained British government impetus, the City of London's policy chief said on Wednesday, adding that COVID-19 may be masking some of the impact of leaving the EU, Reuters reported. Britain's financial sector lost most of its access to the European Union, which had been its single biggest export customer, after completing its exit from the bloc a year ago.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire dangled the possibility of further tax cuts for industry, in a sign President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to again run on a pro-business platform in April’s elections, Bloomberg News reported. Addressing company executives in Paris, he said the state needs to look further at how to lessen a burden that disadvantages France’s manufacturing sector compared to European peers.

Government tax receipts surged to a record €68.4 billion last year as consumer spending and employment rebounded from the pandemic at a sharper-than-expected rate, the Irish Times reported. Year-end exchequer returns, published by the Department of Finance, show tax receipts rose by almost 20 per cent or €11 billion last year despite the negative impact of restrictions to curb the coronavirus at the start of the year. The latest numbers pointed to an exchequer deficit of €7.4 billion for 2021, an improvement of nearly €5 billion on 2020.

The São Paulo State Prosecutor's Office has requested that the Court block the assets of Sidnei Piva and declare the bankruptcy of Viação Itapemirim and ITA Transportes Aéreos, the Rio Times reported. The opinion, signed by the 5th Bankruptcy Prosecutor, Nilton Belli Filho, was submitted in the airline's judicial reorganization proceeding.

Mexico's annual auto sales rose by 6.8% in 2021, but were still far short of pre-pandemic levels as the car industry struggles to cope with shortfalls in semiconductors, official data showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Mexico sold 1,014,680 light vehicles last year, according to figures from the national statistics agency (INEGI) after sales fell 27.9% to 950,063 in 2020, a nine-year low. There were 1.3 million vehicles sold in 2019 before the pandemic while 2016 saw a record 1.6 million sales.

Mass protests in Kazakhstan over an increase in fuel prices have prompted the country’s authoritarian government to resign and the president to impose a state of emergency in a crisis that threatens to destabilize the oil-rich former Soviet republic, the Wall Street Journal reported. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has declared a two-week curfew in Kazakhstan’s western Mangistau region and in Almaty, the country’s largest city. The restrictions include a ban on mass gatherings and limitations on movement. Mr.

January 6 NCLAT Junks Anil Agarwal-led Firm's Takeover of Videocon, Calls for Fresh Bids A bankruptcy appeals court on Wednesday scrapped billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Twin Star Technologies' winning bid to take over Videocon Industries Ltd on a plea by some creditors that the money offered imposed a steep Rs 62,000 crore haircut upon banks, the Times of India reported.

A wall of maturing debt and a surge in seasonal demand for cash will test China’s financial markets this month, putting pressure on the central bank to ensure sufficient liquidity, Bloomberg News reported. Demand for liquidity may total about 4.5 trillion yuan ($708 billion) in January, 18% more than the amount seen last year, according to calculations by Bloomberg based on official data and analysts’ estimates. An increase in the amount of policy loans coming due and demand for cash to be spent during the Lunar New Year, which takes place earlier in 2022, are drivers.

A demolition order from authorities on the southern Chinese island of Hainan has plunged embattled property giant Evergrande into a fresh publicity crisis amid an investigation into the legality of a major project’s planning permits, the Washington Post reported. Trading of China Evergrande Group shares was suspended Monday following reports from local media that the Danzhou government had ordered the removal within 10 days of 39 apartment blocks on an artificial island in the seaside city after ruling that previous approvals were not valid.

British consumers took on the most debt since July 2020 in the runup to Christmas, with a surge in borrowing on credit cards, Bloomberg News reported. Consumers added 1.2 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) to their unsecured debts in November, up from 828 million pounds in the previous month, Bank of England data published on Tuesday show. Economists had expected a gain of about 800 million pounds. The figures indicate strength in the economy in the weeks before the omicron variant of the coronavirus struck the U.K.