Europe

The European Union is delaying the retaliatory tariffs it announced after the United States imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports earlier this month, CNN.com reported. The countermeasures, which include higher tariffs on American whiskey, were set to take effect starting April 1 and follow a phased approach. Instead, they will take effect all at once in mid-April, pending negotiations, the Commission announced on Thursday. In addition to whiskey, the first phase called for 50% tariffs on motorboats and motorcycles from the US.

The Bank of England has left itself the option to “skip” an interest rate cut later this year, economists have said, after policymakers voted to leave borrowing costs unchanged at 4.5 percent, The Telegraph reported. Andrew Bailey, the Governor, was among the eight members of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to vote to keep rates on hold, with only one member - Swati Dhingra - voting to cut to 4.25pc.

A senior Dundee University figure has told MSPs that insolvency is a "real possibility" as the institution attempts to tackle a £35m funding black hole, BBC.com reported. Acting chair of court Tricia Bey said without forthcoming financial support from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) the university will run out of money by the end of June. Interim principal Prof Shane O'Neill told the Scottish Parliament's education committee he was given the "false assumption" last year that the university was close to breaking even despite having a £12.3m operating deficit at the time.

Romania's largest publishing house, Litera, founded in 1989 in Chisinau by Moldovan entrepreneur Anatol Vidrascu, announced it is taking over the online marketplace Elefant.ro from the insolvent online retailer Elefant Online, planning to turn it into a modern online platform for selling books, toys, stationery, and school supplies, Romania-Insider.com reported. Before its insolvency was announced in 2024, Elefant was the second-largest marketplace in Romania. Litera publishing house's activity peaked in 2021 when its turnover reached RON 92 million with a RON 10 million net profit.

A rise in U.S. tariffs on imports from the European Union that was met with retaliation would weaken economic growth in the eurozone and push inflation higher, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Speaking to European lawmakers, Lagarde said an increase in U.S. tariffs of 25 percentage points would lower the eurozone’s economic growth rate by 0.3 of a percentage point in the first year.

The Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at 4.5% on Thursday, despite the fact that the economy is barely growing, EuroNews.com reported. Policymakers are also contending with increased uncertainty, particularly in light of tariff policies enacted by the Trump administration in the US. The decision by the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee was widely expected and comes a day after the US Federal Reserve also held interest rates. Minutes from the meeting showed that eight members voted to keep policy unchanged, with one backing a quarter-point reduction.

Switzerland’s central bank lowered its key interest for a fifth straight meeting of its policy makers, while its Swedish counterpart left rates unchanged Thursday for the first time since mid-2024, the Wall Street Journal reported. Economists expect both central banks to leave their key rates unchanged over coming months. Both have moved rapidly to remove the restraints they placed on economic activity as they sought to tame an inflation surge in 2022 and 2023.

Yorkshire and the Humber saw a significant rise in insolvency activity in February, UK.News.Yahoo.com reported. Research from the UK's insolvency trade body, R3, indicates a 39 per cent increase. Despite this, new business start-ups in the region rose by 0.2 per cent, the only increase in England.

Euro-area inflation slowed more than initially reported in February, strengthening arguments for the European Central Bank to keep cutting interest rates, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose an annual 2.3% — less than the 2.4% Eurostat first flagged. Wednesday’s revision follows an unexpected drop in Germany’s inflation rate. With the outlook for economic expansion and inflation in Europe clouded by uncertainty, ECB officials debating whether to pause or lower borrowing costs again next month may be tempted to focus on the clear progress in reaching their 2% target.