German manufacturing orders unexpectedly fell in April, reflecting the persistent difficulties in the industrial sector even as Europe’s largest economy gradually recovers, the Wall Street Journal reported. Orders were 0.2% lower than the prior month, German statistics office Destatis said Thursday. It came after orders fell 0.8% in March, weaker than the 0.4% originally published. Over a three-month period, new orders were down 5.4%, mainly due to major aircraft orders in December 2023.

U.K. businesses expect wages to rise at a slower pace over the coming 12 months, a finding that will help reassure policymakers at the Bank of England that inflation has been tamed, the Wall Street Journal reported. A survey of 2,317 businesses carried out by the BOE during May found that the average expected rise in wages eased to 4.5% from 4.8% in April. Those businesses reported that wages were 6% higher in the three months through May than in the same period a year earlier.

Advantage Capital Holdings LLC has made a proposal to invest in Everton FC, people familiar with the matter said, adding another unexpected twist to the takeover saga surrounding the English Premier League football club, Bloomberg News reported. New York-based A-Cap and a partner firm have submitted a plan that would see them refinance all of Everton’s existing debt and then take a non-controlling equity stake in the club, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

German financier Lars Windhorst was cleared after a German criminal investigation into whether he breached banking rules by setting up a financing vehicle to pay back investment firm H2O Asset Management, Bloomberg News reported. Berlin prosecutors dropped the probe because they didn’t find evidence that would have warranted criminal charges, a spokesman for the agency said. The probe was officially closed in April.

Germany’s jobless rate was stable at a low rate for a sixth-straight month, reflecting a resilient jobs market in Europe’s largest economy, ahead of a European Central Bank interest-rate cut later this week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The adjusted unemployment rate was 5.9% in May, data from the Federal Employment Agency showed Tuesday. The number of jobless claims rose by 25,000 in May, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ahead of estimates of 10,000 and the 8,000 increase recorded in April. Registered job vacancies stood at 702,000, down 65,000 on year, the agency said.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner announced plans for €23 billion ($25 billion) in income-tax relief for households through 2026 even as he wrestles with his coalition partners over how to plug a hole in next year’s budget, Bloomberg News reported. The proposal includes increasing the tax-free allowance for low earners, as well as lifting earnings brackets to offset the effect of inflation as workers are pushed into higher tranches under the country’s progressive taxation system.

The Korean owners of one of Frankfurt’s best known skyscrapers failed to agree a restructuring plan for a loan tied to the building, paving the way for insolvency proceedings, Bloomberg News reported. A fund managed by IGIS Asset Management confirmed the event of default for the debt linked to Trianon tower in Germany’s financial capital.

A number of Thames Water’s lenders tapped financial adviser Perella Weinberg Partners ahead of potential debt negotiations with the beleaguered utility, Bloomberg News reported. The group is made up of nearly 20 institutions, said the people, who asked not to be identified because discussions are private. The banks have exposure to the UK’s largest water company through different debt instruments including swaps, a revolving credit facility, and some class A and class B bonds, the people added.

The European Central Bank will soon push several German lenders to build up higher reserves against property loan defaults, in a move that would cut into their profits, Bloomberg News reported. Banks with large portfolios of commercial real estate loans such as Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG and some regional lenders jointly known as Landesbanken are one focus of the ECB’s effort, though it’s not clear which will ultimately face demands for higher provisions, people familiar with the matter said.

Swiss financial regulator FINMA wants to be able to name and shame banks which breach its rules, Chief Executive Stefan Walter told newspaper NZZ in an interview published on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The call is one of FINMA's demands for increased powers after the authority came under fire over its handling of Credit Suisse's collapse last year. "Today, the publication of enforcement proceedings is the exception," Walter told the newspaper.