Headlines

The British government has asked public sector managers to test their contingency plans against a worst-case scenario of 25% staff absence as part of efforts to minimise disruption from the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Reuters reported. With daily infection numbers at a record high and people who test positive required to self-isolate for at least seven days, the government expects businesses and public services to face disruption in the coming weeks, it said in a statement.

Sri Lanka’s federal Cabinet will meet Monday to decide whether or not to seek bailout funds from the International Monetary Fund as the nation struggles with limited options to address upcoming debt maturities, Bloomberg News reported. The group of ministers will be joined by central bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal as well as Treasury Secretary Sajith Attygalle, according to Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, whose Sri Lanka Freedom Party members have favored approaching the Washington-based lender.

The cost of borrowing money in Turkey is surging, a sign that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy of driving down interest rates is starting to backfire, Bloomberg News reported. Since the central bank began slashing rates in September, the yield on 10-year government bonds has climbed more than 7 percentage points, touching an all-time high of 24.9% on Wednesday. It stands at more than 10 percentage points above the bank’s benchmark repo, the biggest premium on record.

Paraguay will end 2021 with inflation of 6.8%, well above the official target and the highest rate since 2010, driven by food and fuel price increases, the central bank said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Last year consumer prices in the country rose 2.2% and the official goal for 2021 was to end the year with a 4% rise. In 2010, inflation was 7.2%. Fuels soared almost 30%, beef 18% and flour 16% in 2021, according to a report from the bank, which did not register increases in consumer prices during the month of December.

The new German government will offer tax relief to individuals and companies worth at least 30 billion euros ($34.1 billion) in this legislative period, Finance Minister Christian Lindner was quoted as saying on Sunday, Reuters reported. "We will relieve people and small and medium-sized businesses by significantly more than 30 billion euros," Lindner told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people on December 30 not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of onboard outbreaks fueled by the omicron variant, the Associated Press reported. The CDC said that it has more than 90 cruise ships under investigation or observation as a result of COVID-19 cases. The agency did not disclose the number of infections.

Singapore's economy expanded at its fastest annual pace in over a decade in 2021 as the country emerged from its worst recession on record, caused by the deep hit to activity from the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. The city-state's economy grew 7.2% in 2021, preliminary data showed on Monday, broadly in line with the government's official projection and rebounding from the record 5.4% contraction in 2020.

More changes have been proposed to strengthen the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 by the Insolvency Law Committee, Bloomberg News reported. These include a swifter admission process, a time limit on acceptance of resolution plans, more stringent measures against avoidable transactions and wrongful trading, and a formal closure of the voluntary liquidation process. The ILC was constituted in November 2017, by the central government. It has since issued four reports on the basis of which the ministry has recommended changes to the IBC.

Praxis Home Retail Ltd has settled with regulator Sebi a case of alleged violation of market norms, by paying over Rs20 lakh towards settlement charges, the Economic Times of India reported. The firm had allegedly failed to make disclosures of certain material events, in accordance with the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements norms. The material events pertain to a company petition that was filed against the company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to initiate a corporate insolvency resolution process for its failure to make payment.

Indian tax officials have seized more than $30 million in cash and gold in raids on suspected tax evaders this week including a record haul of 1.94 billion rupees ($26 million) and 23 kg of gold ahead of assembly elections in five states, Reuters reported. The raids triggered a flurry of accusations from rival political parties over protection for tax evaders as they prepare to compete in the elections, including in the bellwether state of Uttar Pradesh.