A group of U.K. manufacturers said its energy bills are set to soar this year, warning of potential closures, curbs in production and higher costs for consumers, Bloomberg News reported. Net Zero North West -- a consortium of industrial firms in northwest England -- said in a statement that four of its members are facing a collective bill of as much as 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) this year, about 65% higher than in 2020.

Euro zone manufacturing activity accelerated last month as supply chain bottlenecks eased, although the improvement was not evenly spread across member countries and factories still faced high inflationary pressures, a survey showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. IHS Markit's final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a five-month high of 58.7 in January from December's 58.0, below an initial "flash" estimate of 59.0 but comfortably above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.

German annual inflation slowed in January but was still higher than expected by analysts and well above the European Central Bank's price stability target of 2% for the euro zone as a whole, preliminary data showed on Monday, Reuters reported. Consumer prices, harmonised to make them comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries (HICP), rose 5.1% year on year compared with 5.7% in December, the Federal Statistics Office said. The national consumer price index (CPI) rose by 4.9% on an annual basis, easing from 5.3% in December.

U.K. consumer borrowing remained resilient in December, shaking off concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus, Bloomberg News reported. The Bank of England said unsecured lending rose by 831 million pounds ($1.1 billion), double the pace economists had expected. New mortgage approvals surged to 71,015, defying forecasts for a drop. Consumer borrowing was not far off November’s level of 999 million pounds, which was the strongest month since the lifting of restrictions in July 2020.

British house price growth accelerated in January, marking the strongest start to any year since 2005, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. House prices jumped by 0.8% in January, following a 1.1% increase in December. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a 0.6% increase last month. House prices stood 11.2% higher than their level in January 2021, the fastest annual growth since June and again outstripping the consensus forecast for a rise of 10.8%.

Up to £500 million in Bounce Back loans were given to companies which then went bust, the Mirror reported. Almost 10,000 businesses have stopped trading or gone into administration after taking taxpayer-funded cash to help them in the pandemic. The staggering sum is on top of the £5.8billion extracted by fraudsters from the emergency Covid schemes like furlough and Eat Out To Help Out. The new details emerged after the minister for counter-fraud, Lord Agnew, resigned in anger at the Government’s inability to tackle scams.

France assumed Germany’s traditional role as the driving economic force in Europe after a strong finish to last year, while the German economy contracted in the final three months as it grappled with a resurgence of the coronavirus, official data showed Friday, the New York Times reported. Economists expect growth across Europe to return to pre-pandemic levels in the first part of this year but with the pace varying by country.

A U.K. tribunal against KPMG LLP and several of its former employees raises questions whether junior auditors can be held liable for alleged misconduct, a rare case that comes as the Financial Reporting Council works to broaden its enforcement efforts, the Wall Street Journal reported. The audit and accounting regulator’s disciplinary tribunal, which on Monday is set to enter its fourth week, centers on the claim that the professional-services firm forged documents and provided misleading information during audit inspections.

Swiss prosecutors are pursuing around 42.4 million Swiss francs ($45.5 million) in compensation from Credit Suisse in a money-laundering trial due to begin on Feb. 7, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC) said on Monday, Reuters reported. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) indicted the bank in December 2020 after an investigation into the activities of a Bulgarian crime ring involving top-level wrestlers accused of laundering profits from cocaine trafficking.

A record number of companies in England and Wales went into a voluntary form of insolvency in the final three months of last year, as COVID support and protection from creditors was phased out, Reuters reported. During the last quarter of 2021, there were 4,175 creditors’ voluntary liquidations - where directors agree to wind up a company without a formal court order - the highest number since records began in 1960, new government figures showed.