The German government expects consumer price inflation to rise further this year, contrary to earlier projections, which will likely lead to higher wage demands by labour unions, the economy ministry said in its annual economic report yesterday, Reuters reported. The government predicts a national inflation rate (CPI) of 3.3% for 2022 after 3.1% in 2021 as higher energy costs and a scarcity of semiconductors and other intermediate products continue to push up overall prices, the ministry said.

Sweden will extend its current pandemic measures by another two weeks, the minister for health said on Wednesday, as the Omicron variant is spreading at record speed, Reuters reported. The curbs mean bars and restaurants have to close at 2300 and there is a cap of 500 people inside larger indoor venues. "We have an extremely high level of spread," Health Minister Lena Hallengren told a news conference. "The restrictions must remain in place for two weeks.

Imerys SA, the French provider of specialty materials, is planning a sale of its high temperature solutions business, Bloomberg News reported. The Paris-based company is working with advisers at Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co. to gauge interest in the unit. It could fetch as much as 900 million euros ($1 billion). The high temperature solutions division provides minerals to make insulation materials for molds and furnaces used by metal foundries and iron and steel producers, as well as to protect industrial equipment used in power plants, chemical refineries and cement factories.

Squeezed by soaring yields and potential government price caps, European utilities are making a dash to the bond market, Bloomberg News reported. Energy companies from Italy’s Enel SpA and Germany’s E.On SE have raised 9.1 billion euros ($10.3 billion) in January, the highest tally in data going back to 2014. Utilities account for a third of all investment-grade corporate bond offerings in Europe so far this year. Issuance is up 53% compared with January 2021.

Serbia’s second attempt to sell off the bankrupt Putnik Prijepolje tour company and its assets, including the Bosko Buha memorial complex in the south-western Serbian municipality of Prijepolje, was halted on Tuesday, with no reason given, BalkanInsight.com reported. The sale was scheduled for Friday but the Bankruptcy Supervision Agency, which is in charge of state-owned companies that have declared bankruptcy, said on Tuesday that it has decided to “cancel the sale of the real estate of the bankruptcy debtor… and to withdraw the announcement for the sale of its [property] units”.

The U.K.’s markets watchdog warned it will come down hard on struggling firms that leave customers out of pocket when they resort to legal procedures to manage their liabilities, Bloomberg News reported. The Financial Conduct Authority has seen an increase in the number of firms developing plans that deploy company or insolvency law, such as schemes of arrangement, to manage how much they owe in claims to their clients, the regulator said in a statement on Tuesday. The FCA said it would take action against companies if their proposals unfairly benefit them at the expense of clients.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte further eased the Netherlands’ coronavirus lockdown, allowing bars, restaurants, museums, theaters and other venues to reopen from Wednesday for the first time this year, the Associated Press reported. But Rutte warned that the move wasn’t without risks. “We are taking a big step today to unlock the Netherlands while the infections numbers are really going through the roof,” Rutte said Tuesday.

A council gave almost £2m in 2021 to a firm it set up to cut the cost of running leisure services to stop it "becoming insolvent," BBC.com reported. Volair, which was launched in 2015 to cut Knowsley Council's annual £2m leisure spend, runs clubs in Halewood, Huyton, Kirkby and Stockbridge Village and a Prescot football centre. The firm said it had seen "significant shortfalls" due to Covid-19's impact. The council has not commented on the bailout.

A U.K. minister in the ruling Conservative Party resigned after accusing Boris Johnson’s government of failing to properly root out fraud in a loan program introduced to help businesses though the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported.

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.