The Japanese business mood worsened in March to levels not seen since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, a government survey showed, a sign surging oil costs and supply disruptions from the Middle East war were taking a toll on the fragile economy, Reuters reported. A separate survey by a private think tank also showed corporate bankruptcy cases rose for the fourth straight year in fiscal 2025 with further increases expected from around summer as surging costs from the conflict squeeze profits.

A committee of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has recommended the need to shift from an entity-centric, recovery-focused framework to a project-centric, completion-driven approach, along with stronger coordination between the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the Hindustan Times reported.

Major global investment banks now expect China to keep official interest rates steady this year, scaling back earlier rate-cut calls, as the impact from the Middle East conflict appears ​limited, even as Beijing maintains a loose policy stance, Reuters reported. The receding rate cut expectations ‌also come as China holds up better than its regional peers amid the Iran war, while the broader economy has shown early signs of a rebound.

A study commissioned by the insolvency regulator has called for removing structural inefficiencies in the current auction design pertaining to the rescue of bankrupt micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and putting in place an improved model to boost resolution, the Economic Times of India reported. The study on MSMEs in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) by Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, favoured the introduction of a single objective auction model where the bidder offering the highest recovery is awarded.

China’s unrelenting housing downturn is forcing the country’s banks to confront a thorny issue: sinking real estate values are pushing millions of mortgages underwater, increasing the risk of losses for lenders and property owners, Bloomberg News reported. Behind the scenes, Chinese bankers and officials are getting creative to contain the fallout. Several state-owned banks have approached cash-strapped borrowers and offered them payment holidays on their mortgages for as long as two years.

The businessman who masterminded a huge nickel fraud against Trafigura Group was named by Mauritius as the ultimate beneficiary of toxic loans that led to the collapse of a local lender, Bloomberg News reported. Prateek Gupta and entities linked to him received a total of 7.9 billion rupees ($168 million) from Silver Bank in which his wife Ginni Gupta held a 75% share, Premier and Finance Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Japan’s households reduced spending for a third straight month even after real wages turned positive, underscoring the fragile state of domestic demand, Bloomberg News reported. Outlays by households adjusted for inflation fell 1.8% in February from a year earlier, a faster decline compared with January’s 1% retreat, the internal affairs ministry reported Tuesday. The weak year-on-year data underscore the challenges for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as she attempts to buoy domestic demand with fiscal steps meant to soften the blow from rising prices.

Gautam Adani, India's second richest person, will ask a ‌U.S. judge to dismiss the Securities ‌and Exchange Commission's civil fraud case against him, his lawyers ​said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani were charged by the SEC in November 2024 with orchestrating a scheme to pay or promise ‌to pay hundreds ⁠of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials to benefit ⁠Adani Green Energy, where both men are executives and directors.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing bank loan frauds cumulatively worth ₹73,000 crore in seven cases registered against the Reliance Anil Ambani Group, according to a status report filed in the Supreme Court in February, The Hindu reported. The CBI informed the court that it is actively investigating seven cases, and is probing the roles of certain public servants as well. After reviewing the status report filed by the CBI and its financial investigations counterpart, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the apex court issued an order on March 23.