Business

A court found that companies linked to the ‘ndrangheta mafia were able to access state-backed loans. ADVERTISEMENT The Italian lender Banca Progetto has been placed under court administration for allegedly giving state-backed loans to companies linked to the mafia. According to prosecutors in Milan, firms managed by people associated with Italy’s notorious ‘ndrangheta group were able to secure more than …

The French car manufacturer, Renault, experienced a better-than-expected revenue performance in the third quarter of the year, as demand for new models soared, leading to increased sales. ADVERTISEMENT French automotive group Renault released its third quarter results on Thursday, recording a jump in revenue, bucking the trend of the weakness currently seen in the auto industry across Europe.  The company …

Intesa Sanpaolo is to cut thousands of jobs and focus on a more resilient business model including more use of artificial intelligence and digitalisation. ADVERTISEMENT Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, is to cut thousands of jobs in an attempt to decrease costs and speed up the company’s digital transformation.  The cuts account for nearly 10% of the bank’s current workforce. …

The eurozone’s private sector activity contracted slightly in October, marking the second consecutive month of decline. ADVERTISEMENT The eurozone’s private sector contracted for the second consecutive month in October, with the PMI rising slightly to 49.7. Services slowed more than expected, and manufacturing remained in contraction. Germany showed improvement, but France worsened significantly. According to the Flash Eurozone Composite Purchasing …

The standoff comes during an already challenging year for Boeing, which became the focus of multiple federal investigations after a door panel blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. ADVERTISEMENT Boeing factory workers have voted against the company’s latest contract offer and remain on the picket lines six weeks into a strike that has stopped …

Tesla shares soar following better-than-expected third-quarter earnings as its electric car sales returned to growth, while the Cybertruck achieved profitability for the first time. ADVERTISEMENT Tesla reported third-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts’ expectations, sending its shares up more than 12% in after-hours trading. CEO Elon Musk expects that its core business, automotive deliveries, will return to growth after declining in …

Mercedes is opening its own battery recycling plant in southern Germany, in an attempt to recover raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. ADVERTISEMENT Mercedes-Benz has opened Europe’s first battery recycling plant using an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process. The factory will be located at Kuppenheim in south Germany and is expected to have a recovery rate of more than 96%, …

The latest incident comes as Boeing awaits the results of vote by striking workers and is expected to report a big loss in results for its third quarter. ADVERTISEMENT Beleaguered Boeing is facing another dent in its reputation following the breaking up in orbit of a communications satellite it designed and built. Satellite operator Intelsat confirmed the “total loss” of …

The Euro extended its losses against other major currencies within the G-10 group, with the EUR/USD pair dropping below the pivotal 1.08 level on Tuesday. The single currency may remain weak for some time. ADVERTISEMENT The Euro continued its decline against other major currencies following the IMF’s downgrade of the eurozone’s economic growth outlook. Over the past month, the single …

EU new car registrations in September were mainly dampened by poor figures from France, Italy and Germany. Once again, Spain bucked the trend. ADVERTISEMENT New car registrations within the European Union fell -6.1% in September mainly dragged down by Italy, France and Germany, according to the most recent data from the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). Italy faced a …