A watershed moment for U.K. insolvency practices came in a recent ruling in the long-running Core VCT claim that is set to reshape engagement practices and risk management, according a commentary in The Times. Sitting in the High Court, Mr Justice Thompsell ruled that liquidators cannot contractually limit their liability as statutory officeholders. The case involves claims brought by three venture capital trusts and allegations that assets were transferred out of the funds at undervalue and in circumstances of conflict involving the investment manager.

German exports unexpectedly declined in August, hampered by weaker trade with other European nations and the uncertainty prompted by U.S. tariffs over the summer, the Wall Street Journal reported. Exports of goods fell 0.5% on month in August, while imports fell 1.3%, German statistics agency Destatis said Thursday. Exports of goods to other European Union countries dipped 2.5%, while to outside the bloc they increased 2.2%, the data showed. However, despite the U.S.

German industrial production slipped unexpectedly sharply in August, reflecting the impact of uncertainty prompted by rising U.S. tariffs on the sector, the Wall Street Journal reported. Output in factories in Europe’s largest economy sank 4.3% on month, Germany’s statistics agency Destatis said Wednesday. It came after a 1.3% rise in July, which was the first increase since March. Automotive production fell 18.5% on month, although some of that may be due to annual plant closures over the summer, Destatis said. Machinery and pharmaceutical output also led the overall trend downward.

Global financial markets could tumble if investors' mood sours on the prospects for artificial intelligence or the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England warned on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The BoE said that share price valuations on U.S. stock markets were similar to those seen near the peak of the dotcom bubble on some measures and noted that U.S. government bonds were vulnerable to any weakening in the Fed's credibility.

It’s hard to imagine the folks at law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) imagined Jim O’Callaghan would speak out against the enriching of lawyers when they asked him to address their conference on dispute resolution this week, the Irish Times reported. That, though, was the basis on which the Minister for Justice said he is reluctant to provide for third party funding of legal actions in the Irish courts.

The insolvency of an operator of a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Germany raises questions about the financial responsibilities for deconstructing the reactor and disposing of its radioactive materials, TheEnergyMix.com reported. HKG, the owner of the nuclear plant Hamm-Uentrop that was opened in 1983 and taken out of service only six years later, filed for insolvency at a court in western state North Rhine-Westphalia, reports Clean Energy Wire, citing the German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche.

German manufacturing orders unexpectedly sank for the fourth straight month in August, as tariff uncertainty over the summer damped international orders, the Wall Street Journal reported. Total orders tumbled 0.8% on month in August, from a 2.7% fall in July, Germany’s statistics agency Destatis said Tuesday. Orders rose in the first quarter in the run-up to the announcement of expected tariffs from the Trump administration at the start of April. Since then, they have slumped. Germany, in common with other European Union members, faces a 15% tariff on most goods imports into the U.S.

French president Emmanuel Macron has called for an urgent plan for stability after the resignation his prime minister triggered a surge in borrowing costs, The Telegraph reported.

The European Union proposed Tuesday cutting free-trade quotas by 47% on steel and steel products, effectively adding large tariffs on imports from countries like China, India, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, which said the measures would wreck the British steel industry, the Associated Press reported. After importing 18.3 million tons, the new quota, additional imports will face up to 50% in new tariffs, a high price akin to U.S. President Donald Trump's steel measures. Neighboring nations like Norway, Iceland and Ukraine will be exempt.