The Bank of England said on Friday that it would overhaul the way it forecast its outlook for the British economy as part of a “once-in-a-generation” review of its process after it was criticized for underestimating inflation, the New York Times reported. After a few turbulent years — which included a pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a surge in inflation — the central bank was accused of bungling its economic forecasts.

Thai retailer Central Group has acquired the landmark KaDeWe property in central Berlin from the insolvent Austrian company Signa in what it said was another step towards buying the group, Reuters reported. Central said in a statement on Friday that it was optimistic about talks to acquire the entire KaDeWe Group, which includes Alsterhaus in Hamburg, and Oberpollinger in Munich. The Thai retailer already holds a 50.1% majority stake in the group.

Levels of stress at German companies hit the highest level in almost four years, as Europe’s biggest economy faces a sustained period of slower growth, Bloomberg News reported. German corporate distress was the highest since 2020 at the start of this year, according to research published on Thursday. The study, by law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, aggregates data from more than 3,750 listed European firms. “German corporates continued to experience the highest levels of distress,” when compared to the UK, France, Spain and Italy, the Weil report said.

The Swedish construction industry is facing a severe downturn, with an increase in bankruptcy filings signaling a broader economic turmoil within the sector, according to PressKraft.se. Credit reference agencies have observed a significant uptick in the number of companies seeking bankruptcy protection. Data from January indicated a 47% increase compared to the same period a year prior, with 622 companies filing for insolvency. This surge in bankruptcies is symptomatic of a deeper crisis affecting builders and has notable repercussions for the Swedish economy at large.

Switzerland called on Wednesday for changes to global measures to prevent liquidity crunches which were introduced after the global financial crisis, to make bank runs less calamitous, Reuters reported. A year after the collapse of Credit Suisse, which was bought by UBS in an emergency rescue, Swiss officials and regulators are examining how to change liquidity rules to make banking deposits more stable and avoid bank runs. The Swiss government said in a report on how to regulate banks deemed "too big to fail" (TBTF) that liquidity requirements should be addressed internationally.

German manufacturing orders edged up in February, reflecting only a moderate rebound as demand for goods remains sluggish, the Wall Street Journal reported. Orders were 0.2% higher than the prior month, German statistics office Destatis said Friday. Orders collapsed by a revised 11.4% on month in January, a large decline that evened out a steep rise in December that was primarily driven by aircraft orders from manufacturer Airbus. In a less volatile three-month-by-three-month period, orders climbed 2.8%.

Austrian tycoon Rene Benko and one of his companies faces a probe by Liechtenstein prosecutors into suspected insolvency fraud and money laundering, Bloomberg News reported. “It can be confirmed that preliminary investigations have been initiated against a natural person and a legal entity as well as against unknown perpetrators,” prosecutor Gregor Hirn said in an emailed response to Bloomberg questions. The prosecutor confirmed the investigation, and pointed to earlier reports by the Swiss finance blog Inside Paradeplatz that named Benko and the allegations.

Germany's only remaining major department store chain is set to get new owners after its third spell in bankruptcy protection in four years, and the company aims to keep most of its stores open, its insolvency administrator said Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is to be taken over by a consortium of U.S. private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners, which currently has investments in Hudson's Bay of Canada and Saks Fifth Avenue among others, and German businessman Bernd Beetz's BB Kapital SA.

The Swiss government stopped short of offering the country’s banking watchdog the power to fine lenders, despite widespread support for the measure — including from the finance minister, Bloomberg News reported. After the near-collapse of Credit Suisse over a year ago and its takeover by UBS Group AG, Switzerland is grappling with how to handle an outsized financial sector dominated by a behemoth bank that’s more than twice the size of its economy.

Fashion retailer Esprit’s Belgium subsidiary has filed for insolvency due to rising costs and cash flow difficulties, the Wall Street Journal reported. Esprit Belgie Retail filed for the commencement of insolvency proceedings over its assets at the insolvency court of Belgium on April 8, Esprit said late Monday in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Esprit said that its Europe retail business operations were under stress because of high energy and logistics costs and weak consumer sentiment. Late last month, the fashion retailer’s Swiss unit had filed for insolvency.