Business

Easing fears of a potential Israeli attack on Iran’s oil facilities have sent both oil and global prices sharply lower on Tuesday. However, volatility is likely to persist, with critical economic events later this week. ADVERTISEMENT Both oil and gold prices fell sharply on Tuesday amid potential ceasefire talks between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese military group. Oil futures …

Italy’s ambitious Structural Budget Plan aims to steer the country out of the European Union’s Excessive Deficit Procedure by 2026, but economists warn aggressive fiscal tightening could harm growth and risk recession. ADVERTISEMENT Italy this week unveiled an ambitious Structural Budget Plan – “Piano Strutturale di Bilancio (PSB)”, aimed at tackling its long-standing debt challenge while stabilising public finances.  Although the …

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is to take a 40% share in the iconic London department store in what will be Selfridges’ second change of ownership in two years. ADVERTISEMENT Embattled Austrian property and retail giant Signa Holdings has sold its shares in the Selfridges Group to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The multi-billion-euro deal is the latest in a …

BP has been facing increasing pressure from investors and stakeholders to cut down its green ambitions and to stay within the more profitable fossil fuels sector. Environmental groups are angry. ADVERTISEMENT Oil giant BP is reportedly giving up its target to reduce its oil production in the next five years as part of a change of strategy, more of which …

The heavy fine for the UK’s biggest water supplier comes shortly after the troubled utility company announced it was in talks with creditors to seek new equity, to prevent it running out of cash by May next year. ADVERTISEMENT UK water regulator Ofwat has fined Thames Water £104m (€124m) for its part in illegal sewage discharges into rivers and sea. …

Despite a steep drop in fuel prices, annual inflation in the Netherlands was still 3.5% in September, one of the highest in the eurozone. ADVERTISEMENT Prices in the Netherlands were 3.5% higher in September than a year earlier, according to the final figures published by the Netherlands Statistics Office (CBS).  The pace of the price increase was, however, slightly slower …

eBay UK has scrapped the fees private sellers have to pay to access the online marketplace, in a move designed to see off competition for the rapidly growing and hugely profitable pre-loved sector. ADVERTISEMENT eBay is second only to Amazon as the biggest online marketplace in the world. Earlier this year, eBay UK abolished fees for private users selling pre-loved clothing, which, the …

Israel says it aims to drive Hezbollah away from the border so the thousands of Israelis displaced by months of almost daily cross-border fire can return to their homes. ADVERTISEMENT Powerful new explosions have rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight into Sunday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, also striking a Palestinian refugee camp in the north as it targeted …

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among scores detained on Saturday after staging a sit-in protest demanding an end to EU subsidies for fossil fuels. ADVERTISEMENT Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested by Belgian police on Saturday as she demonstrated against fossil fuel subsidies by the European Union. The Swedish activist was joined by dozens of demonstrators from ‘United for Climate …

Here’s why under-the-radar Brno should be on your 2025 travel list. ADVERTISEMENT Midday is 11am in Brno, marked by the chiming astronomical clock which remains an enigma even to the locals. On the hour, this large, erect black granite structure releases a marble to one of three catch points – usually guarded by the hands of children. Every wonky piece …