Higher U.S. tariffs are not the main reason for a surge in Chinese exports to the eurozone, Africa and other parts of Asia, according to economists at the European Central Bank, the Wall Street Journal reported. While President Trump last year hiked tariffs on imports from countries around the world, the duties faced by Chinese businesses are higher than most other countries. That has led to a sharp fall in Chinese exports to the world’s largest economy.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting and said it expected inflation to retreat soon and for economic recovery to gather pace in the year ahead, the Wall Street Journal reported. “The economy is at an early stage in its recovery. With ongoing strength in commodity prices, economic activity in the agricultural sector and regional New Zealand remains strong,” the central bank said Wednesday. The official cash rate was held steady at 2.25% as expected.

The International Monetary Fund urged Japan to keep raising interest rates and avoid loosening fiscal policy further, warning that trimming the consumption tax would erode its capacity to respond to future economic shocks, Reuters reported. The recommendation came as dovish Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide election win heightens market attention to whether she will push back against further rate hikes by the central bank. It also follows Takaichi's pledge to suspend by two years an 8% consumption tax on food sales.

Two former members of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will examine the status reports of various residential projects of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), particularly Wish Town township in the city, where around 17,000 homebuyers have been awaiting possession of their flats for years, the Times of India reported. On Thursday, NCLT appointed the two former members — PK Mohanty and Dr Deepti Mukesh — to independently assess the progress of construction and compliance with a resolution plan, approved three years ago, in the insolvency matter of JIL.

Financial creditors are now leading the charge at bankruptcy tribunals, overtaking the vendors and service providers who once dominated filings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), LiveMint.com reported. The shift marks a turning point in how the law is being used: less as a pressure tactic for recovering trade dues and more as a lender-driven restructuring framework. Data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) shows that banks and other financial creditors accounted for 47% of cases admitted between April and December, compared with 33% by operational creditors.

Japan's economy barely expanded at a 0.2% annual pace in the last quarter, with private consumption rising by 0.4% between October and December, Euronews.com reported. The minor growth in consumption was offset by a 1.1% drop in exports, according to the latest seasonally adjusted preliminary data. Growth for all of 2025 came in at just 1.1% as Japan’s export-reliant economy has been shaken by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. On a quarterly basis, the economy grew only 0.1%, the Japanese government reported.

Jason Sward from Queensland, Australia, has landed himself with 2.5 years behind bars for multiple indictable offences, with six months imprisonment for each offence, to be served concurrently, AccountantsDaily.com reported. Sentenced in the Southport District Court, Sward was released on recognisance of $2,000 after pleading guilty to the six offences of:

· Two offences of disposing of property within 12 months before a petition has been filed with intent to defraud creditors.

· Disposing of property after a petition had been filed with intent to defraud creditors.

The Supreme Court on Friday (February 13, 2026) laid down that telecom service providers (TSPs) do not own spectrum, a precious and finite public resource meant to be used for the common good of all, and cannot include it among their pool of “assets” for insolvency or liquidation, TheHindu.com reported. A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Atul Chandurkar held that Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) excludes any assets over which a corporate debtor has no ownership rights.

Chinese state-owned companies are buying foreclosed property projects, in a sign that long-promised government efforts to reduce massive oversupply in the crisis-hit housing sector are finally getting traction, albeit at a slow pace, Reuters reported. Analysts say the involvement of state firms may cushion the pace of further home price falls and ease the drag that the property slump has had on China's economic growth since 2021.