French energy infrastructure from natural gas import terminals to oil refineries and power plants were disrupted on Tuesday by protests against government plans to increase the retirement age, Bloomberg News reported. The labor protests are putting additional pressure on French energy supplies, which have been hit by prolonged outages at some nuclear reactors and reduced gas flows from Russia. A cold snap in the UK — which trades electricity with France — is temporarily adding strain to the region’s power grid.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s deal to solve the bitter dispute with the European Union over Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements has sparked hope in the City of London that the two sides could finally formalize a pledge to work together on setting rules for banks and financial markets, Bloomberg News reported. The so-called memorandum of understanding on financial rules may seem like a fairly low bar for such economically-tied neighbors. But in the recent history of post-Brexit relations, it would count for progress.

Britain's markets regulator and police have swooped on suspected illegal crypto cashpoints (ATMs) across east London as authorities step up attempts to disrupt unregistered businesses deemed high risk for consumers, Reuters reported. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which last month launched a similar crackdown in the northern English city of Leeds, said on Wednesday it was reviewing evidence gathered from "a number of sites" and might take further action.

Railsbank Technology Ltd., a onetime darling of the UK payments scene that says it’s raised more than $100 million from investors, may be sold off through an insolvency process as it faces mounting financial and regulatory problems, Bloomberg News reported. Directors are close to selling Railsbank through a pre-pack administration, a form of bankruptcy that involves lining up a buyer beforehand, according to people familiar with the matter. The London-based company has appointed restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal to advise on the process. A sale hasn’t been finalized and may not occur.

Battle lines are forming for the European Central Bank decision next week, with one official calling for a whole campaign of new tightening and some colleagues favoring caution, Bloomberg News reported. Toward the dovish end of the spectrum, Chief Economist Philip Lane on Monday acknowledged the need for more increases after a half-point move penciled in for March 16, but warned against policy on “autopilot.” Portuguese central-bank chief Mario Centeno highlighted that inflation is even undershooting ECB forecasts.

Roads blocked, oil refineries disrupted, planes grounded and trains halted — unions are threatening to shut down France’s economy this week in what they hope is their toughest riposte yet to President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age, the Associated Press reported. The first actions started Monday, as truckers sporadically blocked major highway arteries and interchanges in go-slow actions dubbed escargot — the French word for snail — across several French regions. Unions plan an open-ended strike on the national rail service starting Monday evening.

The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party Jeffrey Donaldson said on Monday he had set up a group to consult on views on the Windsor Framework deal agreed between Britain and the European Union last month, Reuters reported. "The group will comprise both members of our party as well as independent thinkers who have standing within the broader community," he said in a statement. "The group will work independently and will provide me with a report by the end of March." Read more.

With European Central Bank policy makers preparing to hike interest rates yet again at their March meeting, Spanish banks have been paying their customers even less for their savings, Bloomberg News reported. Spain’s lenders paid 0.37% on new household deposits with an agreed maturity of as long as one year in January, down from 0.42% in December, according to ECB data published Friday. By comparison, the rate for the savings of French families jumped to 2.34% from 2.13%, while Dutch banks paid 2.03%.

A crypto fund manager overseeing $400 million is looking to Swiss banks to help plug the gap created by the unraveling of a key payments network operated by ailing US lender Silvergate Capital Corp., Bloomberg News reported. Digital Asset Capital Management used Silvergate’s round-the-clock, real-time network to move funds to and from Coinbase Global Inc.’s platform. But Coinbase, Crypto.com and Gemini are among the exchanges that will no longer accept or initiate payments through Silvergate.