European industry felt the effects of the pullback of tariff frontrunning in June, as industrial production declined more than expected, the Wall Street Journal reported. Industrial production fell 1.3% on month in June, more than reversing the 1.1% increase in May, Eurostat data showed Thursday. The data highlights that the boost to production from U.S. firms’ stockpiling of European goods to get ahead of expected tariffs has now faded.

The U.K. economy defied US tariff pressures in the second quarter, expanding by 0.3% and outpacing most G7 peers despite a slowdown from the optimistic 0.7% growth seen earlier in the year, EuroNews.com reported. Strong performances in the services and construction sector helped drive the gains, offsetting a drop in manufacturing and other production sectors. Compared with the same period last year, the economy expanded by 1.2%.

British goods exports to the United States fell to their lowest level in more than three years in June, according to official data published on Thursday that showed the hit from U.S. President Donald Trump's initial import tariff blitz, Reuters reported. Sales of British goods to the United States fell to 3.9 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) during the month, down by 0.7 billion pounds from May and about 20% lower than a monthly average of 4.9 billion pounds in 2024.

More than 2,150 jobs are at risk after the UK business of struggling jewellery chain Claire's called in administrators, Reuters reported. Insolvency practitioners Interpath said on Wednesday they had been appointed joint administrators to Claire’s Accessories UK Ltd, the operator of Claire's 306 stores across the UK and Ireland. The move comes a week after its parent filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. Headquartered in Birmingham, central England, Claire's is known for its trend-led accessories and as a destination for ear piercing.

Statistics Netherlands reports that, adjusted for court days, 299 businesses (including sole proprietorships) were declared bankrupt in July, CBS.nl reported. That was 109 fewer than in the same month in 2024, a decrease of 27 percent. The number of bankruptcies fell by 4 percent in July, relative to June. The bankruptcy rate, the number of bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses, was 8.1 in July 2025. In July 2024, 11.3 per 100 thousand businesses were declared bankrupt. Since the start of the series in 2015, the bankruptcy rate peaked at 24.8 in March 2015.

German banks’ asset quality will come under pressure from rising corporate insolvencies in the coming months amid a challenging macroeconomic environment and persistent high interest rates, Fitch Ratings says. Fitch expects banks’ exposure to vulnerable sectors and anaemic economic growth to result in heightened credit losses in corporate and SME loan portfolios.

Britain has appointed FTI Consulting to advise on contingency plans for Thames Water to be placed into a special administration regime were the country's largest water utility to collapse, a government source said. The heavily indebted and loss-making company is battling to avoid nationalisation by securing 5 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) of finance from its senior bondholders. Thames, which said in July it had enough funds to continue operating for 12 months, needs a reset of regulations for the deal to go ahead. The government said it would always act in the national interest.

Bon Bon Entertainment, a Dutch promoter that has organised tours and shows for the likes of Burna Boy, Wizkid and J.Cole, has declared bankruptcy, IQ Magazine reported. “We can’t ignore the fact that the past two years have been difficult. Cancellations, financial setbacks, and an increasingly difficult market have deeply affected us,” the firm said in a statement. Last summer, Bon Bon was due to deliver Burna Boy’s first stadium show in the Netherlands at Johan Cruijff ArenA on 9 June, but it was pulled less than a month out.

The U.K.’s jobs market continued to cool in the second quarter as businesses grappled with an increase in employment taxes, uncertainty about the outlook for trade, and cautious consumers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months to June, from 4.5% in January to March, while the number of workers on payrolls fell by 26,000 between May and June, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.