Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan repeated his commitment to fight "stubborn" inflation on Thursday in his final public appearance before the central bank announces its next interest rate decision, Reuters reported. Swiss annual inflation dipped to 2.2% in May, government data showed on Monday, but has remained above the 0-2% range targeted by the SNB since February 2022. "It is really important to get inflation down to the level of price stability," Jordan told the Swiss Economic Forum, which took place in Interlaken. "Inflation remains very stubborn," he said.

U.K. house builders cut back on developments at a pace last seen during the pandemic and the global financial crisis 14 years ago after a jump in mortgage rates, a closely watched survey found. S&P Global said its PMI index for the sector dropped to 42.7, the lowest since May 2020 when homebuilding was brought to a standstill by the first Covid-19 lockdown. Excluding the pandemic, it was the weakest since 2009. It bucked a wider pickup in the construction industry in May. The overall PMI rose to 51.6 from 51.1 in April, boosted by commercial building and civil engineering work.

Euro zone consumers lowered their inflation expectations, a fresh European Central Bank survey showed on Tuesday, a relief for policymakers after an unexpected surge a month earlier, even if underlying price growth is still likely to be stubborn, Reuters reported. The ECB has raised interest rates by a combined 375 basis points over the past year to arrest runaway price growth and it could still take until 2025 for inflation to slow back to its 2% target as rapid wage growth and robust demand for services keep pressure on prices.

The Bank of England has completed its planned sales of corporate bonds originally bought as part of a program to stabilize markets in the wake of the Brexit vote and the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bloomberg News reported.

A European derivatives committee said on Monday that a bankruptcy credit event has not occurred in relation to France's debt-laden Casino (CASP.PA), dashing investor hopes for a payout on credit insurance linked to the retailer, Reuters reported. The EMEA Credit Derivatives Determination Committee (CDDC) met on Friday to discuss the question raised by an investor, it said on its website.

Italy's government has no need to directly invest in Stellantis as the carmaker is doing well, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti suggested on Monday, echoing similar comments made last week by the group's chairman, Reuters reported. Asked by reporters whether Rome should take a stake in Stellantis to have more say in its management, Giorgetti said the company's CEO Carlos Tavares had demonstrated he can pursue the highest financial results for the group.

Euro zone business activity was shored up last month by the bloc's dominant services industry offsetting a deepening decline in the manufacturing sector, according to a survey which also showed overall price pressures had abated, Reuters reported. HCOB's final Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global and seen as a good gauge of overall economic health, fell to a three-month low 52.8 in May from April's 54.1. While still comfortably above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction it was below a preliminary estimate for 53.3.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said inflation pressures remain powerful and borrowing costs will be raised further to tackle them — cementing expectations for another interest-rate hike at next week’s meeting, Bloomberg News reported. With the full effects of the ECB’s already historic monetary-tightening campaign still materializing, Lagarde reiterated that there’s no clear evidence that underlying inflation has peaked. Food inflation, for one, remains elevated, she said Monday. “Price pressures remain strong,” Lagarde told European Union lawmakers in Brussels.

Switzerland's UBS said Monday that it expects to complete its takeover of longtime rival Credit Suisse as early as next week, the Associated Press reported. The two Zurich-based banks are uniting in a 3 billion-franc ($3.3 billion) deal that was arranged hastily in March by the Swiss government and regulators after Credit Suisse’s stock plunged and jittery depositors quickly pulled out their money. The merger was aimed at stemming upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two U.S. banks shook confidence in the sector.

Ilija Batljan, the founder and dominant shareholder of embattled Swedish landlord SBB, stepped down as chief executive officer in a dramatic move that highlights the uphill battle he faces to save his $13 billion empire, Bloomberg News reported. Batljan, who founded Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB in 2017, will hand off executive responsibility as of June 5, the Stockholm-based company said Friday in a statement. He will be replaced by Leiv Synnes, who has served as chief financial officer of Akelius Residential Property AB since 2014.