Germany on Monday extended its current pandemic measures as the experts panel appointed by the government has warned the fast spreading Omicron coronavirus variant could bring critical infrastructure in Europe's biggest economy to a breaking point, Reuters reported. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he had agreed with the heads of the federal states to extend restrictions such as limiting private gatherings to 10 ten people and requiring proof of booster vaccination or a negative test at restaurants. "Now it's time to stay on course," said Scholz after a meeting on Monday.

Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa is in talks to buy a 40% stake in state-owned Alitalia's successor ITA Airways, two people familiar with the negotiations said on Sunday, following a newspaper report that a deal could be unveiled next week, Reuters reported. The talks about a tie-up between Germany's partly state-owned Lufthansa and ITA Airways are still ongoing with all outcomes possible, one of the sources said on condition of anonymity, adding the stake price was still under negotiation.

NATO allies are bolstering the alliance’s eastern flank in response to Russia’s military buildup around Ukraine, as the European Union set out plans for loans and grants for Kyiv worth more than $1.3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. The moves are part of sharpening efforts by the U.S. and its allies to gird for what they believe could be an imminent military invasion of Ukraine, which Russia denies it is planning.

British retail sales slumped in December after consumers did much of their Christmas shopping earlier than usual in November and many people stayed at home due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Reuters reported. Economists said that the scale of the hit bolstered their expectations that the world's fifth-biggest economy shrank last month under the strain of Omicron and new government restrictions to slow its spread.

Ukraine's central bank raised its main interest rate to 10% from 9% on Thursday, crossing into double digits for the first time since April 2020, to try to tackle persistently high inflation and the economic fallout from a standoff with Russia, Reuters reported. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said it could hike rates again at its next policy meeting in March and signalled that monetary conditions would remain moderately tight. It would also increase banks' reserve requirements next month.

Inflation in the euro zone will decrease gradually over the year as its main drivers, such as surging energy prices and supply bottlenecks, are expected to ease, European Central Bank (ECB) head Christine Lagarde told France Inter radio, Reuters reported. "This will stabilise and ease gradually in the course of 2022," she said. Asked on her policy to counter price pressures, Lagarde reiterated that the ECB did not need to act as boldly as the U.S. Federal Reserve because of a different economic situation. "The cycle of the economic recovery in the U.S. is ahead of that in Europe.

The United Kingdom is cracking down on “misleading” cryptocurrency advertising as more citizens get involved in the digital assets, The Hill reported. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced his plan on Tuesday to amend financial promotion legislation to include cryptocurrency. The finance minister said even though 2.3 million people in the U.K. own cryptocurrency, more than 3 percent of the population, understanding of the digital currency is declining.

Benchmark German bond yields fell for the first time in five sessions on Thursday as money markets slightly pulled back their bets on rate hikes this year, Reuters reported. Germany's 10-year yield, the benchmark for the euro area, had risen above 0% for the first time in nearly three years on Wednesday but was trading back in negative territory on Thursday. Money markets pared back bets on rate hikes from the European Central Bank this year slightly, pricing in a 80% chance of 10-basis point rate hike by September, down from a 100% chance on Wednesday.

Romelectro, the company that designed a large part of Romania's energy system during the communist regime and carried out projects abroad, mostly in the Middle East, is asking for insolvency, Romania-Insider.com. This happens precisely when the country needs the most engineering companies able to develop major projects in the energy generation sector, Ziarul Financiar daily comments.

Investors who lost money from investing in Wirecard AG shares can’t make Germany’s financial regulator Bafin compensate them, a Frankfurt court ruled, Bloomberg News reported. The tribunal on Wednesday threw out four suits by shareholders who claimed they lost between 3,000 euros ($3,404) and 60,000 euros after the former payment company went bust in Germany’s biggest accounting scandal. Bafin isn’t liable to individuals even if the regulator made blunders, so they cannot sue, the court said in a statement.