Euro zone finance ministers will discuss on Thursday how they can support the development of euro-denominated stablecoins so as not to leave the rapidly growing market only to the United States, a senior euro zone official said, Reuters reported. Stablecoins are digital tokens that have stable value against a regular currency and are backed by reserves like the currency itself or other assets. The stablecoin market is now around $300 billion, but is forecast to grow tenfold over the next decade, the official said. Almost all stablecoins now are denominated in U.S. dollars and U.S.

German regional solar systems provider Sungrade Photovoltaik has filed for insolvency, facing increasing price pressure, material and supplier issues, as well as volatile market conditions, RenewablesNow.com reported. The Neu-Ulm Local Court ordered on October 2 preliminary insolvency proceedings over the company’s assets, law firm Pluta Rechtsanwalts GmbH said on Monday. Florian Zistler from Pluta was appointed as the preliminary insolvency administrator. According to the statement, Sungrade’s business operations will continue, and existing orders will be fulfilled.

The German retail sector has suffered another major blow as the a large retail group confirms the closure of approximately 70 stores following its insolvency filing, InteriorDaily.com reported. The company, Schlau Brothers Group, which owns both Schlau and Hammer specialty stores, entered self-administered insolvency in summer 2025 amid rising costs and financial strain. While the Hammer chain will be partially salvaged through acquisition, saving around 1,200 jobs, roughly 70 of its 93 locations are still set to shut down.

Retailers in the eurozone saw sales edge higher in August, adding to signs of a modestly resilient economy despite U.S. tariffs and political uncertainty, the Wall Street Journal reported. Retail volumes increased 0.1% across the 20-nation currency area in August from a month earlier, compared with a 0.4% drop in July, statistics agency Eurostat said Monday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had also expected a 0.1% increase. Domestic consumer demand has been expected to prop up the eurozone economy as it takes the hit from U.S. tariffs on its exports.

Germany's unemployment level is expected to fall in the two next years as the long-awaited recovery of Europe's biggest economy gathers pace, a source told Reuters on Monday, citing government forecasts. The forecasts, first published by Reuters on Saturday, will be presented by the economy minister on Wednesday. According to the new government projections, unemployment will edge down from 6.3% this year to 6.2% in 2026, before easing to 6.0% in 2027.

The Garda fraud squad has sent an extensive file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with recommendations for prosecutions against three directors of wholesaler Swan Fruit, it is understood, the Irish Independent reported. The criminal investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau into the Carlow-based fruit and vegetable wholesaler stems from a voluntary liquidation process that has been ongoing for 11 years.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has joined with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to address concerns about misleading advertising and inadequate disclosure by some claims management companies (CMCs) and law firms involved in motor finance claims, MotorFinanceOnline.com reported. The joint initiative also focuses on the potential for clients to be charged excessive fees.

It may be 17 years since Brian Cowen’s government guaranteed the Irish banking system to stave off its collapse. And it’s only a matter of months before the wind-down of the successor company to Anglo Irish Bank (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, or IBRC) is completed and outstanding matters are handed over to a unit in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). But the ghosts of Anglo’s past continue still linger in some long-forgotten places, according to a commentary in the Irish Times.

French industrial production unexpectedly fell back again in August in a sign that the country’s political deadlock is weighing on activity, adding to pressures on wider European industry, the Wall Street Journal reported. Output was 0.7% lower on month, figures from France’s statistics office Insee showed Friday. After a revised 0.1% fall in July and against economists’ expectations for a rebound, August’s decline is the fourth in five months, underscoring the challenges facing French industry.

Until recently, a cargo ship called Blade Runner Two would frequently carry 279-foot-long wind turbine blades from a factory on the Isle of Wight to the nearby English mainland. The island, about a mile off Britain’s south coast, cannot be reached by rail or road, but the voyage of the huge blades showed that the Isle of Wight’s isolation had not stopped it from contributing to the country’s economy, the New York Times reported. In recent months, though, Blade Runner Two has made few voyages.