“This is Venezuela — they’re very disorganized with these types of things,” said Alejandro Grisanti, the director of the Caracas-based research firm Ecoanalitica. “Every day, it’s harder for them to pay.” The government had another $237 million in interest payments come due Saturday, and the National Public Credit Office has yet to announce their payment. A delay in those payments would bring the total in arrears to $587 million. Source Bloomberg
The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has challenged the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency, arguing that it could be replaced by a global digital alternative to end a savings glut that resulted in 10 years of low inflation and ultra-low interest rates. Source The Guardian
China said on Friday it will impose retaliatory tariffs against about $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, putting as much as an extra 10% on top of existing rates in the dispute between the world’s top two economies. Source Reuters
Singapore has a message for Elon Musk, taking mass transit is a better climate-change solution than tooling around in one of his Tesla Inc’s electric vehicles. The city-state, which has said its efforts to cope with climate change are as crucial as military defence, has prioritised greater use of its trains and buses, Masagos Zulkifli, minister for environment and water resources, said in an interview Wednesday. Source Free Malaysia Today
