Chinese property firms’ bonds were hit with another wrecking ball on Monday as Evergrande looked set to miss its third round of bond payments in as many weeks and rivals Modern Land and Sinic became the latest scrambling to delay deadlines.

Mercedes-Benz, the German company founded by the inventors of the motor car, is pouring more resources into its cutting-edge research and design capabilities in China as the centre of gravity of the new auto world shifts eastwards.

Oil prices rose by about 2 per cent on Monday, extending gains as an energy crisis grips major economies amid a pick-up in economic activity and restrained supplies from major producers.

China has won the artificial intelligence battle with the United States and is heading towards global dominance because of its technological advances, the Pentagon’s former software chief told the Financial Times.

Most Asian markets rose on Monday to extend last week’s rally after US lawmakers averted a painful debt default, but another jump in oil prices added to inflation concerns as the Federal Reserve prepares to taper its ultra-loose monetary policy.

The International Monetary Fund said Sunday it still had not decided whether its embattled chief would keep her job, with the lack of clarity over Kristalina Georgieva’s future threatening to overshadow the body’s fall meetings this week.

Japan’s new Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, said on Sunday he won’t seek to change the country’s taxes on capital gains and dividends for now as he intends to pursue other steps for better wealth distribution, such as raising wages of medical workers.

The IMF executive board was to meet Sunday to hear from a law firm whose investigators concluded that managing director Kristalina Georgieva manipulated data in favor of China while she held a senior role at the World Bank, a source close to the case said Saturday.

India’s Reliance Industries Limited on Sunday announced acquisition of REC Solar Holdings for an enterprise value of $771 million from China National Bluestar (Group) Company Limited as it seeks to become net carbon zero by 2035.

Dawdon coalmine in northeast England was abandoned three decades ago, but is being brought back to life as the unlikely setting for a green energy revolution.

The first cars to emerge from Tesla’s new Berlin factory should roll off the production line as early as next month, CEO Elon Musk said at the site of the plant on Saturday, but added that volume production would take much longer to achieve.

China Evergrande Group offshore bondholders are concerned that it is close to defaulting on debt payments and want more information and transparency from the cash-strapped property developer, their advisers said.

Meal delivery services became essential during the pandemic, when millions of Americans were under lockdown and restaurants were shut to visitors.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday termed China as a “great friend” to Bangladesh and emphasised the need to enhance bilateral relations between the two with a focus on trade in the days ahead.

China said on Saturday it pressed the United States to eliminate tariffs in talks between the countries’ top trade officials that Washington saw as a test of bilateral engagement between the world’s biggest economies.

A global deal to ensure big companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15 per cent and make it harder for them to avoid taxation has been agreed by 136 countries, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Friday.

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Friday he expected to finalise a free trade agreement with the European Union by the end of next year, despite the EU’s anger over Canberra’s cancellation of a submarine contract with France.

Boris Johnson has turned to former Tesco boss Dave Lewis to fix supply chain problems that have hit the British economy and sparked criticism of the Prime Minister’s response.

The US economy was predicted to add hundreds of thousands of jobs last month but instead gained only 194,000 as the Delta variant of Covid-19 again denied President Joe Biden the soaring labor market he is banking on -- at least for now.

US stock market investors are gauging whether more volatility is ahead because of surging global energy prices, which could drive up inflation, erode profit margins and pressure consumer spending.