Europe

German landlord Adler Group SA is looking to refinance senior debt it took out as part of a restructuring earlier this year in an effort to lower its servicing costs, Bloomberg News reported. Adler is looking at a number of options to reduce the cost of its first lien debt, including using proceeds from asset sales to repay part of it. It has also approached investors to refinance some debt at a lower rate. Talks about Adler’s options are at preliminary stages and might not lead to a deal.

Volkswagen plans to shut at least three factories in Germany, lay off tens of thousands of staff and shrink its remaining plants in Europe's biggest economy as it plots a deeper-than-expected overhaul, the company's works council head said on Monday, Reuters reported. Europe's biggest carmaker has been negotiating for weeks with unions over plans to revamp its business and cut costs, including considering plant closures on home soil for the first time, in a blow to Germany's industrial prowess.

Warnings over France’s financial situation grew on Friday when the Moody’s ratings agency issued a negative outlook for the country’s sovereign debt rating amid concerns about the nation’s rapidly rising debt and deficit, the New York Times reported. The outlook reflects what Moody’s said were heightened risks of political gridlock in France as Prime Minister Michel Barnier struggles to get a newly elected — and deeply divided — Parliament to pass an austerity budget. France has become one of the most financially troubled countries in Europe, with a ballooning debt and deficit.

Thames Water Utilities Ltd. unveiled a plan Friday seeking to raise up to £3 billion ($3.9 billion) from some of its creditors as it struggles to stave off insolvency while negotiating a lasting solution, Bloomberg News reported. The UK’s largest water and sewage provider said it wants to borrow more money and extend existing debt due to mature next year. It also wants to access cash reserves to avoid running out of operating capital by early next year. Without new funds and a restructuring of its debt load of around £16 billion, the utility would likely be temporarily nationalized.

Swiss Steel has "categorically denied" rumors of insolvency proceedings. This is the ailing steel group's response to media reports that the company could soon run out of money despite the recent capital increase, SwissInfo.ch reported. Despite reports to the contrary, the Swiss Steel Group is in regular and constructive contact with all lenders,” the company stated on Friday. Last weekend, both the NZZ am Sonntag and the SonntagsZeitung reported that Swiss Steel’s financial situation had deteriorated further.

Eurozone consumers expect price rises to slow over the coming year, with the rate of inflation seen falling closer to the European Central Bank’s target, according to a survey released Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The ECB pays close attention to inflation expectations because they affect the wages demanded by workers in pay negotiations, and in turn future price rises.

European Union governments should refrain from interfering with banking consolidation, which the bloc needs to compete with other major economies, two senior bank executives said on Friday, Reuters reported. The challenge of closer financial integration has taken fresh relevance in the euro zone after Italy's UniCredit last month unveiled a stake in Commerzbank and said it would consider a full takeover, sparking a backlash in Germany.

Russia’s central bank raised its key interest rate to the highest level since the invasion of Ukraine as it struggles to cool an overheating economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Russia on Friday lifted borrowing costs for the third straight meeting, to 21% from 19%. The key rate was last near that high in late February 2022 when the central bank countered a slump in the ruble that followed the start of a lengthening war on the country’s neighbor.

Atos SE said a French commercial court approved its financial restructuring plan, paving the way for creditors to take control of the troubled French IT company in the coming months, Bloomberg News reported. Under the plan, Atos will receive about €1.5 billion to €1.7 billion ($1.6 billion to $1.8 billion) of new money by the beginning of 2025 to help fund its restructuring, the company said in its earnings statement on Thursday.