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A ‌five-month extension to index provider MSCI's review of Indonesian equities gives Jakarta regulators a ​longer runway for reforms, but ‌will not immediately lure long-term capital back to the battered market, investors say.The benchmark ‌index fell 1.6% ⁠after MSCI pushed its review ‌to November, deferring rather than eliminating ‌the downgrade threat, with the country retaining its emerging market status for now.Indonesian assets have been hammered ⁠since January, when MSCI froze the country's stocks in its indexes and raised the prospect of a downgrade to frontier status, leading to a flurry of reforms, including moves to raise free-float levels.The index is down 30% so far this year, making it the world's worst-performing major stock market, as overseas investors net sold around $3.9bn worth of shares.With foreign outflows unrelenting and fiscal worries dragging the rupiah to record lows, the window of opportunity is narrow ​to turn around a market that has gone from darling to deadweight.Tan Altundag, investment manager for emerging equities at Pictet Asset Management, said staying in the investable universe for a broader range of funds is meaningful, ‌but "it does not automatically restore confidence or ⁠reverse outflows.""This is ​not a clear-cut recovery narrative, and the bar for re-engagement remains high," said ​Altundag, who is underweight Indonesia.The index provider late on Tuesday called measures from Jakarta a "step in the right direction", but warned it would consider options such as a consultation on a downgrade if sufficient progress was not evident by November.Gary Tan, portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, said the outcome was in line with market expectations, with the tone of MSCI’s statement more cautionary than outright negative."What stood out is the clear shift toward implementation and measurable outcomes, signalling that announced reforms alone are not sufficient," Tan said."The extension of the review to November keeps pressure on regulators and effectively kicks the ‌decision down the road."Indonesia's financial ‌regulator said on Wednesday the MSCI announcement ⁠would serve as momentum to strengthen and accelerate the capital market reform agendas initiated since January.For passive ⁠emerging market funds and ETFs, the ⁠impact is likely to be limited, said Kunhee Park, investment strategist for ETF equities at State Street Investment Management, noting Indonesia's weight in the MSCI emerging markets index has already more than halved this year to less than 0.5%.Investor unease has been growing over President Prabowo Subianto's spending agenda, which has supported initiatives such as free meals to millions of people but has also contributed to the rupiah ​sliding to record lows, leaving the broader investment backdrop looking fragile.Credit-rating firms Moody's and Fitch cut their debt rating outlooks for Indonesia to negative earlier this year, citing reduced policymaking credibility.A downgrade would be devastating for Indonesia and could trigger as much as $13bn in outflows from the equity market, Goldman Sachs has estimated, at a time when the combined market value of Indonesian equities has shrunk by $370bn since January.Mohit Mirpuri, a Singapore-based fund manager at SGMC Capital, said the MSCI extension is a better outcome than many had feared, but stressed that the onus is now ‌on Indonesian regulators."The next few ​months will be about execution, credibility and evidence rather than further policy announcements," he said. 

Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Brussels Thursday in the latest mass protest against austerity reforms brought in by Prime Minister Bart De Wever's conservative government.Police said the march drew 80,000 people — matching the turnout at the last such demonstration in October — while unions put the figure at more than 100,000.Public transport and government services were also widely disrupted by strike action, with Belgium's two main airports cancelling all scheduled departures due to a shortage of security staff and baggage handlers.Belgian unions have been mobilised since De Wever took office early last year against government reforms to the pension and unemployment systems."This shows people are strongly determined, but also that they are anxious about the geopolitical situation," Marie-Helene Ska, secretary-general of the Christian CSC, one of three unions that called the day of action, told AFP."It shows that making ends meet is going to become really difficult with prices going up for basic goods like petrol, diesel, heating products," she said.Many banners at the march displayed a crossed-out number 67 — the age at which both public and private sector employees will be able to draw a full pension by 2030, as early retirement options are phased out.The reform is accompanied by a new system of penalties and bonuses that unions say is highly unfavourable to people with stop-start careers, particularly women."At 25, I want to plan my life — not just how to survive," read a placard held aloft by a young woman demonstrator.Belgium's parliament last year also approved a flagship reform limiting unemployment benefits in most cases to two years — after which recipients are switched onto much lower social security payments.Unions warn it will push thousands of Belgians into poverty, especially in the French-speaking south where the jobless rate is twice as high as in the Dutch-speaking north.Addressing parliament Thursday, De Wever vowed the government would not back down."It's our duty to stay the course," he said. "Failure to do so would be an act of selfishness towards our children and our grandchildren," he told lawmakers.Dozens of associations joined the march, including the Belgian branch of anti-poverty group ATD Quart Monde — which voiced alarm about the impact of reforming unemployment benefits."We fear a huge increase in poverty rather than a return to work," volunteer Baptiste Boulbes told AFP, who said the training offered to get people back into employment was "often extremely limited".Police said the demonstration passed off peacefully for the most part, although 50 people were briefly detained after "troublemakers" vandalised a bank branch in the city centre. 

Ecuadorans went to the polls Sunday to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and on starting a constitutional overhaul that could give Trump-friendly President Daniel Noboa more power.Nearly 14mn Ecuadorans are eligible to cast ballots on four questions that will decide how the country tackles rampant drug violence and addresses economic reforms.The South American nation banned foreign military bases on its soil in 2008.But with a "Yes" vote Sunday, which pre-election polling showed as likely, the US military could potentially return to the Manta airbase on the Pacific coast — once a hub for Washington's anti-drug operations."It is the only way to toughen the laws a bit and put an end to the insecurity our country is experiencing," Teresa Jacome, 60, told AFP in the crime-ridden largest city of Guayaquil.Other questions posed to voters concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers, and creating an elected body that would draft a new constitution.Polls will close at 5pm.The vote is taking place amid unprecedented violence sparked by turf wars and side hustles of drug trafficking gangs, a scourge which Noboa has vowed to tackle with a firm hand.It also comes as the US military conducts a series of airstrikes against alleged drug smuggling boats, a divisive policy from President Donald Trump that Noboa has backed.In office since November 2023, Noboa has deployed soldiers on the streets and in prisons, launched dramatic raids on drug strongholds, and declared frequent states of emergency — criticized by human rights groups.The 37-year-old millionaire has also posted images of hundreds of inmates, their head shaves, in orange uniforms being moved to a new mega-prison, echoing moves by El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.Still, in the first half of this year, there were 4,619 murders — the "highest in recent history," according to Ecuador's Organised Crime Observatory.Just as voting began, Noboa announced that the leader of the country's most notorious gang, Los Lobos, had been captured.The most-wanted drug kingpin known as "Pipo" had "faked his death, changed his identity and hid in Europe," Noboa said on X.Interior Minister John Reimberg later said "Pipo" had been detained in Spain in a joint operation between Ecuadoran and Spanish police.Once much safer, Ecuador now has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America, and many would like to give Noboa freer rein.The prospect of aiding Trump's deadly air campaign against alleged drug trafficking boats will be on some voters' minds.Many Latin American governments are opposed, but Ecuador has become one of Washington's top champions in the region.Noboa has asked for Trump's help in tackling cartels and floated the idea of US bases returning to Ecuadoran soil.Regarding the other questions on the ballot, Noboa says the current constitution, at 400-plus articles, is too long and has "many errors."But he has been coy about what parts of the constitution he would like to change, leading to allegations he wants to consolidate power and curb rights.The body to draft a new constitution would likely be dominated by Noboa's allies, given his approval rating of around 56%.Noboa, the Porsche-driving son of a banana tycoon, also aims to reshape the state and economic model to give more space to the private sector.