Business

In the EU budget, wealthier western and northern European nations predominantly serve as net contributors, while central and eastern European members are mainly net recipients. ADVERTISEMENT The EU enables EU countries to achieve more together than they could if they acted alone. Member states contribute to the EU budget and also receive funds from it. Some countries end up as …

The move from Crédit Agricole could complicate UniCredit’s bid to take over the smaller Italian lender. ADVERTISEMENT Banco BPM shares spiked on Monday after the French lender Crédit Agricole announced it was boosting its stake in the Italian bank late last week. Shares in Banco BPM were up over 2% in early trading, their highest rise since January 2016. Crédit …

The legal battle over baubles and fir branches dates back several years – and is linked to German employment laws. ADVERTISEMENT Garden centres in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) are allowed to sell decorations, including Christmas decorations, on Sundays – in addition to flowers and plants. That’s according to a ruling given by Germany’s Federal Court of …

“It’s difficult to continue being a winning country in a continent which is challenged a lot,” Thomas Bustrup told Hannah Brown on this episode of The Big Question. ADVERTISEMENT In the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) 2024 World Competitiveness Ranking, Denmark came out third.  Singapore and Switzerland took the top two spots, dethroning Denmark from the prized position in …

Without a new budget, the country is facing a deficit of up to 6.6% of the GDP in 2025, more than double the European Union’s standard. ADVERTISEMENT No matter what the French government had warned about, neither domestic nor international turmoil followed immediately after Prime Minister Barnier’s cabinet’s downfall and his resignation. But without a valid budget, the public deficit …

Canal+ partially blamed the withdrawal of its C8 channel for the decision, which came after France’s broadcast regulator pulled its licence. ADVERTISEMENT The French media company Canal+, owned by Vivendi, will take its paid channels off terrestrial TV in France, effective from June 2025. In a press statement published on Thursday evening, the group blamed “an increasingly restrictive tax and …

Northern Ireland continued to experience the strongest gains, mainly due to increasingly competitive mortgage rates. ADVERTISEMENT The year-on-year UK Halifax House Price Index for November was released on Friday, coming in at 4.8%, which was the highest in two years, according to Halifax and Bank of Scotland. This was in contrast with October’s 4%, as well as market expectations of …

The UK insurance firm Aviva has improved on an earlier deal rejected by its smaller competitor Direct Line. ADVERTISEMENT Direct Line has agreed a takeover offer from Aviva that will pave the way for the combined group to own a fifth of the UK motor insurance market. The bid, which values Direct Line at £3.6bn, entails Aviva paying 275p per …

There are growing concerns about the crop in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s biggest coffee producers. ADVERTISEMENT Coffee prices have hit a 47-year high.  That is as a result of commodity market futures (contracts to buy or sell in the future at a given price) for the Arabica coffee recently reaching $3.35 per ounce (453 grams). That is 70% more …

Following higher EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, car makers such as BYD, SAIC and Geely have increased their hybrid exports to Europe, in an attempt to boost their European market share in this way. ADVERTISEMENT Major Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers may have found a way to sidestep the EU’s increased tariffs on electric cars, while continuing to expand …