European natural gas futures fell again to their lowest level in almost two months as nations intensify efforts to ease the energy crisis with the start of the heating season less than two weeks away, Bloomberg News reported. Benchmark prices dropped as much as 8.8% on Monday, extending last week’s decline. Germany, the U.K. and others plan to spend billions to ease their reliance on Russian imports, rescue local energy companies, and cap prices to alleviate pressures on businesses and households.

The Bank of England this week will consider whether to push through the biggest interest-rate increase in 33 years to respond to surging inflation and weakening confidence in British assets, Bloomberg News reported. With prices rising five times faster than the UK central bank’s 2% target and the pound falling almost daily, policy makers led by Governor Andrew Bailey are under pressure to step up the pace of monetary tightening.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority published a warning to consumers about Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX, saying it isn’t authorized by the regulator to offer financial services or products in the country, Bloomberg News reported. The regulator said on Friday on its website that Bahamas-based FTX “is targeting people in the UK,” adding that investors are “unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong” since they won’t be protected by the country’s ombudsman service and compensation scheme.

The Hungarian government will submit the first of several anti-corruption bills to parliament on Monday, its spokesman said, as Budapest scrambles to avoid losing billions of euros in European Union funding, Reuters reported. The European Union executive recommended on Sunday suspending funds worth 7.5 billion euros ($7.48 billion) due to what it sees as Hungary's failure to combat corruption and uphold the rule of law. The European Commission also set out requirements for Hungary to keep access to the funding, including new legislation, which Hungary immediately said it would meet.

The number of companies in England and Wales declared insolvent jumped by 43% in August, according to government data, which adds to concerns for the health of the UK economy, The Guardian reported. There were 1,933 insolvencies in August, compared with 1,348 in the same month last year, the Insolvency Service said. It was 42% above the level in August 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Economists are concerned that businesses will increasingly struggle as consumers cut back spending amid high inflation.

Germany took control of the German business of Russian oil giant Rosneft Oil Co. as Berlin races to safeguard its energy supplies before its planned ban on Russian oil imports kicks in later this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The German government said it would place Rosneft’s German subsidiaries under trusteeship. The business’s flagship asset is the PCK refinery in Schwedt, eastern Germany, that provides Berlin and the surrounding region with much of its gasoline and aircraft fuel.

Serbia has started discussions with the International Monetary Fund to receive financial assistance as the southeastern European country faces soaring borrowing costs on international bond markets, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Officials in Belgrade are currently in talks to receive a so-called stand-by arrangement, a financial lifeline to help manage balance of payments imbalances for a short period, usually less than two years.

Russia's economy is not likely to return to pre-war levels before the end of this decade as the Ukraine war and stricter sanctions worsen long-standing economic deficiencies, Scope Ratings said in a report seen by Reuters on Friday, Reuters reported. By the end of 2023, gross domestic product (GDP) will be about 8% below where output was in 2021, according to the credit rating watchdog's forecast. The Russian economy expanded by 4.7% in 2021, according to federal statistics service Rosstat.

Much of the outward business of government in Britain is grinding to a halt during 10 days of national mourning until the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II, when schools, doctors offices and many shops will close. But through it all, the financial markets have been grumbling with an unease about Britain’s economic outlook, the New York Times reported. High inflation and low economic growth are expected to continue, joined by vast borrowing to finance the new government’s plan to freeze energy bills while it cuts taxes.

Germany is in advanced talks to take over Uniper SE and two other large gas importers in a historic step to avoid a collapse of its energy market, Bloomberg News reported. State ownership of Uniper, VNG AG and Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, formerly Gazprom Germania GmbH, is the main solution under discussion, the people said. The government is considering buying Fortum Oyj’s controlling stake in Uniper for a nominal price and would then inject billions of euros into the company through a capital increase. That move would dilute the stakes of Uniper’s remaining outside shareholders.