Business

European Union privacy watchdogs hit Facebook owner Meta with fines totaling €251 million on Monday after an investigation into a 2018 data breach on the social media platform that exposed millions of accounts. ADVERTISEMENT Ireland’s Data Protection Commission issued the penalties after wrapping up its inquiry into the breach, when hackers gained access to user accounts by exploiting bugs in …

As fears of a trade war rise, the Italian premier is seen as one of US president-elect Donald Trump’s closest EU allies. ADVERTISEMENT Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday that the EU must take a pragmatic approach with the incoming Trump administration in order to head off a trade war between Europe and the US. The EU has …

Cryptocurrencies are gaining from expectations that President-elect Donald Trump will favour digital currencies during his time in the White House. ADVERTISEMENT Bitcoin’s price hit $107,487 (€102,429.74), a new all-time high on Monday, according to Marketwatch. The queen of cryptocurrencies has gained more than 50% since Donald Trump won the presidential election last month, its price is up roughly 150% year …

Financial experts are more optimistic about Germany’s economy as the ZEW index rebounded more than expected in December, its highest in four months, driven by ECB rate cut prospects and snap elections. Yet, the ifo survey shows businesses remain far more pessimistic about 2025. ADVERTISEMENT Financial experts’ confidence in the German and Eurozone economies improved in December, buoyed by the …

A pessimistic outlook towards 2025 is gripping key sectors, with structural challenges and weak investment driving prolonged stagnation concerns for Europe’s largest economy. ADVERTISEMENT Germany’s business confidence has plunged to its lowest level since mid-2020, with firms signalling deteriorating expectations for the coming year. The ifo Business Climate Index fell to 84.7 points in December 2024, down from a downwardly revised 85.6 points in …

The euro has plunged against the dollar since November amid Trump’s victory in the US election, falling to 1.0330 at a two-year low on 22 November amid an unexpected contraction in the eurozone’s services sector. ADVERTISEMENT The equity markets across Europe kicked off the week on a negative note amid ongoing political turmoil in Germany and France. The German DAX …

Christine Lagarde also said that the ECB will continue to cut interest rates, but that worries persisted about economic growth. ADVERTISEMENT European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has warned US trade policies could affect the EU economy if President-elect Donald Trump is to keep his campaign promises. In a conference on the 10th anniversary of Lithuania joining the eurozone, Lagarde …

An initial decline was to be expected, said analysts, as certain investment funds were restricted to French-listed stocks. ADVERTISEMENT The French media company Canal+ saw its share price drop by more than 20% on Monday as the firm made its debut on the London Stock Exchange. From an opening price of 290p, shares had fallen to around 221p at around …

Parent company IDS agreed to the takeover in May, although both sides have been awaiting UK government approval. ADVERTISEMENT The sale of Royal Mail’s parent company to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský has been approved by the UK government, the involved firms have announced. The £3.6bn (€4.3bn) takeover of International Distribution Services (IDS) was given the green light after Křetínský’s EP …

Eurozone services rebounded in December, lifting overall activity despite a manufacturing slump and job cuts. Germany and France remain in contraction, weighed by political uncertainty. Inflationary pressures persist, keeping the ECB’s interest rate path uncertain. ADVERTISEMENT The eurozone’s private sector ended 2024 on a mixed note, with December’s data showing a surprising revival in the services sector amid a persistent …