China's industrial profit climbed 34.3% in 2021 thanks to strong growth from raw material producers and high-tech manufacturers, official data showed Thursday.

Profit growth slowed sharply at the end of the year, however, rising just 4.2% in December from a year ago, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. In November, industrial profit grew 9.0% from the year-earlier period.


China Evergrande Promises to Play by the Book in Offshore Debt Restructuring

Embattled property developer China Evergrande Group said Wednesday that within six months, it aims to release a global restructuring plan that would respect offshore creditors' legal rights, after a group of its bondholders threatened last week to sue the company for failing to engage with them.

During a call with offshore creditors, Evergrande promised to follow the rule of law and respect bondholders' rights, which in some cases include claims on the company's secured offshore assets, according to people familiar with the matter. Evergrande also said on the call that its founder and Chairman Xu Jiayin might provide additional financial support to the company as it navigates a prolonged restructuring, said the people, who declined to be identified because the call was private.


New SEC Proposal Could Steeply Increase Private-Equity Reporting, Industry Says

A new Securities and Exchange Commission proposal would require private-equity firms to report many more transactions than they do now, a prospect that unnerves many in the industry.

SEC commissioners voted Wednesday for a proposed expansion of the amount of information that private-fund managers report and the frequency with which they have to do so. The agency can put the changes into effect following a public comment period.


Bank of Canada Says Rate Increases Are Coming

OTTAWA-The Bank of Canada held its main interest rate steady at 0.25%, but said rate increases are on the horizon to deal with elevated inflation and an economy running at or near full tilt.

Gov. Tiff Macklem said the decision Wednesday marked the end of emergency policies to support the economy through the pandemic. In the fall, the central bank ended its large-scale asset-purchase program, or quantitative easing, based on economic progress to date. "We're signaling to Canadians that they can expect a rising path for interest rates," he told reporters at a press conference.


UBS Buys Wealthfront for $1.4 Billion to Reach Rich Young Americans

UBS Group AG is buying online wealth adviser Wealthfront for $1.4 billion to reach the young rich and manage more money for people through their devices, the company said Wednesday.

UBS said it would pay cash for the digital platform, one in a clutch of startups whose assets have grown rapidly in an industry shift to automated advice. California-based Wealthfront has $27 billion under management for nearly half a million clients.


U.K. Car Manufacturing Hits 65-Year Low

U.K. car manufacturing fell 6.7% in 2021, marking its worst year since 1956, an industry body said Thursday, blaming the drop mostly on Covid-19-related factors.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that a total of 859,575 cars drove off the production lines last year compared with 920,928 in 2020 and 707,594 in 1956.


U.K. Ad Market Set to Improve After Strongest Year Ever in 2021

The U.K.'s advertising market recovered faster than previously anticipated in 2021 to post its best ever year and spending for 2022 is expected to reach 32.2 billion pounds ($43.44 billion), according to the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report released Thursday.

Revised estimates for U.K. advertising market growth for 2021 now stand at 26%, reaching a total value of GBP29.7 billion, up from October's projection of 25% growth.


UK Government Supports Development of Nuclear Project With GBP100 Million of Funding

The U.K. government said Thursday that it will provide 100 million pounds ($135.1 million) of funding for a project to build a new nuclear plant in Suffolk, in the east of England, which is being developed by Electricite de France SA.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the funds will be used to continue the development of Sizewell C, attracting further financing from private investors and potentially the U.K. government.


Italian Executives Meet With Putin Amid Tension Over Ukraine

Big European and U.S. businesses are attempting to balance their business interests in Russia with increasing pressure from their home governments to isolate Moscow, as tensions between the West and Russia grow over Ukraine.

In Italy, top business executives held a videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, although some companies pulled out of the long-scheduled event following pressure from Italy's government.


Facebook's Cryptocurrency Venture to Wind Down, Sell Assets

Facebook's ambitious effort to bring cryptocurrency to the masses has failed.

The Diem Association, the consortium Facebook founded in 2019 to build a futuristic payments network, is winding down and selling its technology to a small California bank that serves bitcoin and blockchain companies for about $200 million, a person familiar with the matter said.


Tesla Is a Proven Automaker, an Unproven Tech Giant

With help from China, Tesla has turned itself into an unusually profitable car maker. Whether that makes it a tech company worthy of a near-trillion-dollar valuation is less clear.

As it has scaled up production in its Shanghai factory over the past two years, the electric-vehicle pioneer has accumulated enough profit to make up for all the losses in its previous history. Late Wednesday it reported a 14.7% operating margin for the fourth quarter in an industry where single-digit margins are considered normal.


Write to paul.larkins@dowjones.com


Expected Major Events for Thursday

00:01/UK: Dec Zoopla House Price Index

00:01/UK: Dec UK monthly automotive manufacturing figures

07:00/GER: Feb GfK consumer climate survey

07:00/NOR: Nov Labour force survey SA, incl unemployment

07:00/NOR: 4Q Labour force survey

07:00/SWI: Dec Trade Balance

08:00/SVK: Dec PPI

08:00/SPN: 4Q Economically Active Population Survey

08:00/HUN: Dec Employment & unemployment

09:00/ITA: Nov Industrial turnover & orders

09:00/AUT: Jan Austria Manufacturing PMI

09:00/ICE: Dec Labour Force Survey

11:00/UK: Jan CBI Distributive Trades Survey

All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-27-22 0045ET