Headlines

Loose bond documentation that flourished in the easy-money era has left investors vulnerable to asset stripping in recent debt deals. Now they’re fighting back, Bloomberg News reported. In the past week alone, two junk borrowers — Italian luxury supplier Rino Mastrotto and Vodafone Spain — have included stricter provisions in documentation for new bonds that restrict their ability to move assets out of reach of creditors. Clauses in both cases were focused on payments to so-called “unrestricted subsidiaries,” or entities that are not bound by the covenants of a debt agreement.

The number of resolved cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) may beat last year's record in FY25, the chief of the bankruptcy regulator said on Friday, the Economic Times of India reported. About 270 insolvency cases were resolved under the IBC last fiscal year, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) chairman Ravi Mittal said at an event organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). This was way beyond the annual average of 125 cases that saw resolution since the IBC was rolled out in late 2016, he added.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has ordered initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings against Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd on a petition filed nearly six years ago. The plea was filed in September 2018 by erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce which has been merged with state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) now, the Economic Times of India reported. The lender had sought initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against the company under section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. "...

China’s credit growth hit a fresh record low in June, highlighting subdued borrowing demand and prompting a central bank-backed publication to downplay concerns about weakness in the economy, Bloomberg News reported. The stock of aggregate financing — a broad measure of credit — expanded 8.1% from a year ago, the slowest on record in data going back to 2017, official figures released on Friday show. The net increase in aggregate financing was 3.3 trillion yuan ($455 billion), according to Bloomberg calculations based on the data, below the 3.4 trillion yuan forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

China's exports grew at their fastest in fifteen months in June, suggesting manufacturers are front-loading orders ahead of tariffs expected from a growing number of trade partners, while imports unexpectedly shrank amid weak domestic demand, Reuters reported. The mixed trade data keeps alive calls for further government stimulus as the $18.6 trillion economy struggles to get back on its feet. Analysts warn that the jury is still out on whether strong export sales in recent months can be sustained given major trade partners are becoming more protective.

Nearly 90% of Japanese households expect prices to rise a year from now, a quarterly central bank survey showed on Friday, a sign of heightening inflation expectations that could help make the case for a near-term interest rate hike, Reuters reported. A separate survey showed momentum for wage hikes was broadening among small- and medium-sized firms in regional areas, signalling that Japan was making progress toward durably achieving its 2% inflation target - a prerequisite for raising interest rates.

Turkey’s central bank governor delivered his most emphatic message yet to foreign investors worried about premature easing, saying he wants to ensure he can meet inflation goals beyond this year before discussing interest-rate cuts, Bloomberg News reported. “Any actions we take on policy rates should be calibrated so as to hit the inflation target in 2025 and beyond,” Fatih Karahan told Bloomberg in the first sitdown interview he’s given since being appointed more than five months ago.

Zimbabwe’s banks support adopting the ZiG as the nation’s sole currency before the current target date of 2030, provided the economic stability which the bullion-backed unit has delivered is maintained, Bloomberg News reported. Bankers Association of Zimbabwe President Lawrence Nyazema said the availability of the ZiG — which stands for Zimbabwe Gold — will improve as the nation boosts its foreign currency and bullion holdings. “We committed to coming up with a roadmap which would lead us to having a mono-currency by 2030,” Nyazema said in an interview.

Argentines say they are yet to feel the benefits of cooling inflation and analysts predict the five-month streak could end when official figures for June were released on Friday, Reuters reported. Since President Javier Milei took power late last year, inflation has slowed dramatically in Argentina, decelerating from 25.5% in December to 4.2% in May. The sharp fall has been attributed to a suite of cost-cutting and austerity measures that have put a lid on consumer demand, as well as measures to reduce money printing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday endorsed a bill that raises income taxes for the rich, part of efforts to help fill government coffers during the fighting in Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. Putin signed the bill into law two days after it was approved by both houses of parliament. The legislation, which envisages a progressive tax on personal income, is a major change from the flat-rate tax that was widely credited with improving revenue collections after it was introduced in 2001. The new law imposes a 13% tax for incomes of up to 2.4 million rubles ($27,500) a year.