What to see in Asia today
China Evergrande: The troubled property developer’s shares will resume trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Last Thursday, Evergrande Group said its billionaire chairman Xu Jiayin had been subject to unspecified “enforcement measures” on suspicion of “illegal crimes” and trading was suspended.
South Korea: Financial markets were closed for Founding Day, a holiday that celebrates the legendary founding of Korea’s first state, Gojoseon, in 2333 B.C.
Reserve Bank of Australia: Central banks make interest rate decisions. Economists expect the cash rate to remain at 4.1%, an 11-year high.
WeWork won’t pay interest to lure landlords into talks
WeWork disclosed on Monday that it had skipped $95 million in interest payments as the debt-laden U.S. real estate group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and tried to lure its creditors and landlords to the negotiating table.
The SoftBank-backed company said the missed payments would allow it to “engage in discussions with certain stakeholders” as it works out plans to cut financial obligations, a large part of which are lease costs.
Last month, WeWork said it was seeking to renegotiate nearly all of its leases and told landlords that its rent payments were “significantly inconsistent with current market conditions.”
A failed initial public offering (IPO) in 2019 sent the company into financial disarray.
UN Security Council approves mission to fight Haitian gangs
The U.N. Security Council has authorized a security mission to Haiti to fight gangs after a year of deadlock on the issue. China and Russia abstained from the vote, while 13 other member states voted in favor.
Kenya has pledged to send 1,000 police officers to lead the operation, and some Caribbean countries have also pledged to provide support. The United States has said it will support the mission but will not send troops.
The vote comes amid a dire security situation in Haiti, where as many as 200 gangs control large swaths of the city and often kidnap for ransom.
EU climate chief nominee wants global tax on fossil fuels
The nominee for the EU’s climate chief has proposed a global tax on fossil fuels, including those used by aviation and shipping, to fund a fund to help developing countries suffering from carbon pollution.
Former Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra said during a confirmation hearing with EU lawmakers on Monday that he would recommend raising funds through a fuel tax in an attempt to open up plans for “loss and damage” International negotiations for funds.
The international agreement exempts the global transport industry from fuel taxes, although the EU emissions trading scheme covers aviation and will be extended to shipping next year.
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Oil prices hit three-week low on concerns higher interest rates will curb fuel demand
Oil prices fell to their lowest in three weeks on concerns that continued high U.S. interest rates could weaken the economy and slow demand for the commodity.
Brent crude oil fell 1.6% to end at $90.71 a barrel on Monday, while U.S. crude fell 2.2% to end at $88.82 a barrel.
The decline in oil prices over the past few days has reversed a trend of gains since June, driven by coordinated production cuts announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
U.S. stocks end higher as late-day gains in big tech stocks lift S&P 500
U.S. stocks ended higher in a volatile trading session, with a resumption of the recent bond market selloff leading to a rise in long-term Treasury yields to 16-year highs.
The S&P 500 closed slightly higher after a late recovery after spending much of the afternoon in negative territory. The energy and utilities sector’s losses slowed, but they remain the worst-performing sectors in the benchmark index.
Gains in all of the “Big Seven” big tech stocks also helped, including Tesla’s late recovery, which saw the electric car maker’s shares profit. The Nasdaq, which is dominated by technology stocks, rose 0.7% on the day.
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