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July 01, 2026
 

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DEBT

Developing countries facing rising financial and geopolitical risks are turning to greater Global South cooperation through the newly formed Borrowers' Platform.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2026
Debtor countries finally have a group of their own
For decades, developing countries have been forced to navigate an increasingly complex international financial system
The Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei on June 8. Much of the market's boom is fueled by heaps of money borrowed at rock-bottom interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2026
‘FOMO really got me’: Taiwanese go deep into debt to amp 100% stock rally
Much of the AI stock boom is fueled by money borrowed at rock-bottom interest rates.
Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicles are displayed alongside a promotional sign for the Xiaomi YU7 offering three-year interest-free financing at a Xiaomi showroom in Chongqing, in January 2026.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 18, 2026
China’s $300 billion pile of bad consumer debt threatens economy
As much as 10.6% of China’s 1.1 billion adult population were behind on debt payments at the end of 2025.
Vehicles line up for fuel at a gas station in Katembe, Maputo, Mozambique, in April amid the energy shock triggered by the Iran war.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2026
The Iran war and the global debt shock it fueled
Once again, a global crisis is disproportionately burdening countries that did not cause it.
A Nissan production line in Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture. S&P Global has downgraded Nissan to reflect the rising strain on its finances.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 8, 2026
Corporate Japan borrows more as deals and outflows pressure ratings
Against the backdrop of tighter governance and the return of inflation, investors are pressing companies to deploy capital more aggressively.
Financial markets are underestimating the economic risks of biodiversity loss, according to a new study.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jun 6, 2026
Study warns biodiversity loss could trigger wave of debt crises
The study presented what they described as the world’s first biodiversity-adjusted sovereign credit ratings model.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara says Japan plans to use what are known as bridging bonds to help finance Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s investment plans.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2026
Japan plans ‘bridging bonds’ to fund investment initiatives
Bridging bonds are designed to cover temporary funding shortfalls on the premise that future funding resources can be secured.
Nippon Life Insurance, Japan’s largest life insurer, wrote down ¥70 billion ($440 million) in the year ended March 31.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2026
Nippon Life books its first impairment loss in current bond rout
Nippon Life Insurance, Japan’s largest life insurer, wrote down ¥70 billion ($440 million) in the year ended March 31.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rings the bell during a ceremony marking the end of trading in 2025 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Dec. 30.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2026
There’s no Truss moment for Takaichi this time, either
A lettuce famously outlasted Liz Truss’s 49-day premiership. Japan has outlasted its doomsayers for 30 years.
An AI industrial humanoid robot is demonstrated at Foxconn’s annual tech day in Taipei in November.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2026
Will artificial intelligence solve wealthy nations’ debt woes?
If anything, the technology is likely to cause profound — and costly — problems on the way to the halcyon future.
A British Union Jack flag flies on the Bank of England building in London.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 14, 2026
Britain’s local council pensions bet big on shadow lending
Local government pension plans ⁠managing assets totaling some 400 billion pounds ($541 billion) are among Britain’s biggest investors in nonbank “shadow lending” funds.
Shoppers at a store in Sao Paulo.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 5, 2026
Drowning in debt, 8 million firms miss payments in Brazil
Much of the pain has fallen on smaller companies, a group that powers almost 30% of Latin America’s largest economy.
The welfare ministry hopes to establish a system so people can apply for special welfare loans only using their My Number card information for identity verification.
JAPAN / Society
May 4, 2026
Japan eyes going digital for emergency welfare loan applications
The welfare ministry expects the digitalization will partially begin in fiscal 2028 to allow households in financial distress to apply quickly via smartphones instead of in person.
A view of Duomo Cathedral and Porta Garibaldi business district in Milan on Wednesday
WORLD
Apr 24, 2026
Greece to be overtaken by Italy as eurozone’s most indebted country in 2026, sources say
Since 2020, Greece’s public debt — the highest in the eurozone over the last two decades — has shrunk by more than ​45 percentage ​points.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of opposition party the Democratic Party for the People, says the government should present a five-year road map toward achieving a primary surplus by around 2030.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 20, 2026
Japan’s opposition DPP presses for 5-year road map to primary surplus
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said that while a deficit is acceptable in the near term, Japan should aim for a surplus by around 2030.
Olivier Blanchard, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at a meeting of the Japanese government’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, on March 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2026
Takaichi’s economic ambitions meet interest-rate realities and doubts about debt
The math is looking less favorable with the war in the Middle East fueling inflation and the BOJ ready to make a move.
Keidanren Vice Chair Hideki Kobori speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 13, 2026
Keidanren proposes setting up fiscal institution in parliament
Japan’s biggest business lobby envisions the body to provide a basis for discussions on comprehensive tax, fiscal and social security reforms in the country.
SoftBank Group is one of the few Japanese companies that regularly issue corporate bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2026
Japan wants to transform its sleepy corporate bond market
The hope is to make it a source for much-needed growth capital and provide more avenues to funding.
Tongan King Tupou VI and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands after a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last November.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Apr 5, 2026
Tonga’s debt to China hinders rebuilding effort four years after eruption
Tongan Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua has said his country will not be accepting any more loans from Beijing.
Amanda Lynn Tully, who moved from the United States and defaulted on her student loans, in Prague on Wednesday. A record number of student loan borrowers are in delinquency and default. Some are making the drastic decision to leave the country and abandon their loans.
WORLD / Society
Apr 5, 2026
Student debt burdened them, so they moved abroad and stopped paying
Some who made this decision cited relieving the mental burden of debt as a motivator, as well as having a higher quality of life, even on a lower salary, outside the U.S.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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