Britain and Australia announced a free trade deal on Tuesday which the British government hailed as an important step in building new trade relationships following its departure from the European Union, Reuters reported. Britain said cars, Scotch whisky and confectionery would be cheaper to sell in Australia because of the agreement, which removes tariffs and reduces red tape. Australia said it was a "great win" for Australian agriculture. The deal is the first bilateral trade accord Britain has negotiated from scratch since leaving the EU last year.

The U.S. and Europe are expected to announce a five-year suspension of tariffs in their 17-year-old dispute over aircraft subsidies on Tuesday, allowing them to focus on the threat posed by China’s nascent commercial aircraft industry, Reuters reported. A deal to pause the world's largest corporate trade dispute would help U.S. planemaker Boeing (BA.N) and Europe's Airbus (AIR.PA), while granting relief to dozens of other industries affected by tit-for-tat tariffs that were suspended in March. They face a renewed trade war within weeks if there is no progress. U.S.

The European Union on Monday began selling the first bond backing its recovery fund, according to a lead manager, a crucial step in financing members states’ economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. The sale of the 10-year bond is the start of up to 800 billion euros of debt issuance between now and 2026 that will back grants and loans to member states - an unprecedented act of fiscal solidarity on the EU's part that may transform it into a leading European borrower.

As many as 7% of French firms could be in financial trouble when the government rolls back the blanket support it has provided during the pandemic, according to research by Bank of France economists, Bloomberg News reported. The estimate is based on an analysis of over 200,000 balance sheets received as part of the central bank’s annual ratings exercise. It identified firms at risk by singling out those that recorded an increase in debt and a decrease in cash during the crisis.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde hailed Western cooperation as vital to secure the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Politico reported. With the recovery now expected to proceed faster than previously anticipated, Lagarde said that there may be less need for the ECB's emergency support measures in future. Lagarde expressed a combination of relief and excitement as she talked about the importance of multilateralism and policy coordination ahead of two days of summits in Brussels between European and North American allies.

Representatives of the whiskey and dairy industries have called on the Government to pressure the European Union to recognise Irish products that contain some level of input from Northern Ireland as having EU origin status, the Irish Times reported. When the Brexit transition period ended at the start of the year and the UK officially left the EU, a range of goods deemed to be produced in the Republic lost their EU originating status and – as a result - their access to lower or zero preferential trade tariffs with some markets.

As the European Union readies bond sales for its pioneering COVID-19 recovery fund, the scale and duration of the borrowing programme may disappoint those who had visualised last year’s deal for pooled debt as Europe’s Hamiltonian moment, Bloomberg News reported. Agreed in July as the pandemic raged, the deal sparked hopes among investors that Europe would finally have a large and liquid "safe" asset to rival U.S. Treasuries, in turn burnishing the euro's attraction as a reserve currency.

Nightclub and music venue operators can apply to access a £13 million Scottish Government emergency fund from next week which aims to help businesses “prevent insolvency or significant job losses due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Scottish Licensed Trade News reported. he second round of the Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund, which is being administered by Creative Scotland alongside a £12m second round of the Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund, opens for applications on 17th June and close on 24th June.

Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance is close to an agreement to settle a dispute with a Hong Kong-based asset manager regarding unpaid debts, Bloomberg News reported. GFG is close to a settlement with TransAsia Private Capital, which was pressing to take control of a block of shares in Simec Atlantis Energy Ltd., a tidal-power developer owned by GFG, the person said, asking not to be identified as the matter is confidential. A GFG unit owns 43% of U.K.-listed Simec.