Ukraine’s economy fell back into recession as fallout from the pandemic continued to weigh and interest rates were lifted to tackle soaring inflation, Bloomberg News reported. Second-quarter gross domestic product shrank a seasonally adjusted 0.8% after falling 1.2% in the previous three months, preliminary data Monday showed. On an annual basis, it ended more than a year of contraction, advancing by 5.4%, though that was some way off analyst estimates for a 7.3% increase.

Germany plans to sell up to a quarter of its 20% stake in Lufthansa over the coming weeks, the German finance agency said on Monday, citing positive developments at the bailed-out airline, Reuters reported. Lufthansa shares fell as much as 4.9% to 8.81 euros in early trade after the announcement. The state's 20% stake was acquired for 300 million euros ($353.67 million) as part of a bailout for the German carrier as the company and the entire aviation sector took a battering from the coronavirus crisis.

Following the unanimous approval of the insolvency plan by the insolvency creditors of Adler Modemärkte AG at the debate and voting session in court on 27 July 2021 and the insolvency plan having become legally binding in the meantime, the company now intends to implement the capital measures stipulated in the insolvency plan, according to a press release. First, the share capital of Adler Modemärkte AG will be reduced to zero through a capital cut to be carried out in accordance with the provisions on the simplified capital reduction pursuant to § 229 et seq.

London-based Pearson PLC will pay $1 million to settle charges it misled investors about a 2018 cyber intrusion involving the theft of millions of student records, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Monday, Reuters reported. The educational-publishing firm did not admit nor deny the regulator's charges, the SEC said, but in 2019 the firm disclosed in its annual report that the data breach may have included birth dates and email addresses, when, in fact, it knew that such records were stolen.

A former top Wirecard shareholder is seeking damages over the collapse of the payments group in a landmark lawsuit that threatens the compensation bondholders and banks are also seeking, Irish Times reported. Union Investment, Germany’s third-largest asset manager, has filed a lawsuit in Munich against Wirecard’s administrator, which over the past year has been selling the remaining assets of the failed payments group. The asset manager said it suffered €243 million in losses when Wirecard filed for insolvency in June 2020.

When Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi returns from his brief summer break one of the thorniest items on his "to do" list will be finally fixing the woes of the world's oldest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), Reuters reported. The Tuscan lender's decline has tarnished Draghi's record ever since 2008 when, as Bank of Italy chief, he approved its purchase of rival Antonveneta at an inflated price that analysts say contributed to its financial meltdown.

Britain's economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.0% in June, the first full month of indoor service for many hospitality firms, and also helped by the healthcare sector due to a rise in routine medical checkups after the pandemic, Reuters reported. But the official data showed British gross domestic product remained 2.2% smaller than it was immediately before the pandemic struck the country, a reminder of the damage done by Britain's long coronavirus lockdowns last year.

Post-Brexit trade frictions have “significantly altered” freight traffic between the Republic and Britain and sparked a steep rise in volumes to and from Ireland and other European Union members, an Irish Government agency report noted on Thursday, the Irish Times reported. The introduction of checks on some goods since Britain left the EU’s trading orbit on December 31st cut imports from Britain by 35 per cent in the first five months of 2021 while the number of shipping routes to mainland Europe more than doubled.

Thyssenkrupp on Wednesday flagged a cash gap of up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) for its full year, citing restructuring costs and higher investments, as the German conglomerate continues efforts to streamline its businesses, Reuters reported. Shares of the steel-to-submarines group fell as much as 7.7% on the outlook for free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions, which is now expected to be a negative 1.2-1.5 billion euros in the year to September.

Two businesses have been closed down after submitting false documents to at least 41 local authorities and the government’s bounce back loan (BBL) scheme to secure £230,000 worth of emergency support during the pandemic, P2P Finance News reported. LV Distributions and SIO Traders were wound up in the high court during separate hearings on 27 July 2021 following enquiries conducted by the Insolvency Service, which proved neither company ever traded. Councils in Wiltshire, Herefordshire and Guildford were among those targeted.