British inflation fell by more than expected in January and there were signs of cooling price pressure in parts of the economy watched closely by the Bank of England, adding to signs that further hefty interest rate hikes are unlikely, Reuters reported. Annual consumer price inflation (CPI) cooled to 10.1% last month, the lowest reading since September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday.

President Christine Lagarde reiterated that the European Central Bank intends to raise borrowing costs by another half-point next month, Bloomberg News reported. “In view of the underlying inflation pressures we intend to raise interest rates by another 50 basis points at our next meeting in March,” Lagarde told European Union lawmakers in Strasbourg. “We will then evaluate the subsequent path of our monetary policy,” she said Wednesday evening. Despite three months of moderating inflation, ECB officials are hammering home the message that the battle with soaring prices is not yet won.

Credit Suisse Group AG is exiting distressed debt and special-situations trading, as part of its broader exit from risky and capital-intensive businesses, Bloomberg News reported. The bank is selling a book of assets including bond and loan positions related to distressed companies, with a market value of about $250 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Final commitments from bidders are due this week after the portfolio was put up for sale in December.

Frederick Barclay, the reclusive tycoon who owes his former wife £100 million ($121 million), is discussing a financial settlement with her after being threatened with bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The 88-year-old is yet to pay a penny of the divorce award, according to a lawyer for Hiroko Barclay, who told a London court on Monday her legal team was left with little choice but to prepare a bankruptcy petition against the “completely unrepentant” tycoon. The settlement offer to end the divorce fight was made on Feb. 10, the same day as Frederick was set to meet his nephew Howard.

The successful completion in December of Novo Banco's restructuring means Portugal's fourth-largest lender will no longer request funds from the country's Resolution Fund or the state, the finance ministry said on Monday, Reuters reported. The European Commission had agreed that the process involving the bank that emerged from the ashes of the collapsed Banco Espirito Santo in 2014 was over, a ministry statement said.

The euro-zone economy will fare better this year than previously feared as a mild winter and high levels of gas storage help to ease the energy crisis, and the labor market holds up, according to the European Commission, Bloomberg News reported. European Union officials in Brussels raised their forecast for growth this year, predicting a 0.9% expansion in the currency bloc, and said it would narrowly avoid a recession. They also cut their projection for consumer price growth, though it remains high at 5.6%.

Swiss consumer prices rose by 3.3% in January - marking a year that inflation has remained above the Swiss National Bank's 0-2% target range, data showed on Monday, Reuters reported. The increase was more than expected, with economists forecasting the year-on-year rate to rise to 2.9%, up from the 2.8% rate seen in December. Prices were 0.6% higher month-on-month due to more expensive electricity and gas. Hotel accommodation also recorded a price increase, as did bread and coffee.

The German economy will grow slightly this year, the European Commission said Monday, revising upwards its forecast for Europe's biggest economy which it had previously expected to contract by 0.6%, Reuters reported. In its winter forecasts, the European Commision envisages 0.2% GDP growth for Europe's biggest economy in 2023, more than expected in autumn due to the easing of energy prices and policy support to households and firms. German gross domestic product decreased 0.2% quarter on quarter in adjusted terms in the fourth quarter.

Sweden will probably be the only economy in the European Union to contract this year as high inflation erodes private spending and a housing slump hits construction, European Commission said, Bloomberg News reported. The largest Nordic nation faces a 0.8% decline in its gross domestic product in 2023, followed by expansion of 1.2% next year, according to new projections by the Brussels-based executive of the trading bloc, published on Monday. While the commission had in November also forecast a contraction for Germany, it now sees the EU’s biggest economy growing 0.2% this year.