Britain’s economy will shrink over the longer term as the EU-UK Brexit trade deal “lacks substance” in vital areas, credit analysts warn in a report released on Monday, the Irish Times reported. Their assessment comes as Irish businesses on both sides of the Border continue to wrestle with difficulties caused by the UK’s exit from the world’s biggest trade bloc this month. Credit ratings agency Moody’s, which assesses organisations’ and states’ abilities to pay their debts, says a trade deal struck between Brussels and London on Christmas Eve is skewed in the EU’s favour.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Monday that he would resign, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil, Politico reported. By stepping down, Conte will avoid a humiliating defeat in parliament in a vote on judicial reforms later this week. He narrowly won the backing of parliament in a ballot last week after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the small Italia Viva party, withdrew his ministers from the ruling coalition, forcing a confidence vote.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde sounded a cautiously optimistic note on Europe’s economic recovery despite a wave of Covid-19 infections that has closed shops, schools and businesses across the region, triggering a selloff in eurozone government debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. At a news conference on Thursday, Ms. Lagarde said a resurgence of the pandemic in Europe was squeezing business investment and crimping consumer spending.

Carnival Corp.’s flagship cruising brand extended its pause on U.S. departures through the end of April and shelved operations in Australia through mid-May amid lingering pandemic concerns, Bloomberg News reported. Carnival Cruise Line also canceled European trips on Carnival Legend that had been poised to start in May, and delayed trips on Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral, Fla., until the end of that month, according to a statement on Friday. The announcement is the latest in a long line of delays since the entire industry essentially went on hold in mid-March.

Vijay Mallya, who is due to be extradited to India, has applied for "another route" to be able to stay in the UK, the embattled liquor tycoon's barrister representing him in bankruptcy proceedings in the High Court here confirmed in the court for the first time, the Deccan Herald reported.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo Group Plc is set to acquire collapsed British department store group Debenhams in a cut-price deal that will result in the closure of the group’s remaining department stores, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, according to Reuters. The purchase price is expected to be about 50 million pounds ($68.39 million) and a deal could be announced in the next few days, the newspaper reported, citing two people with knowledge of the transaction.

Lufthansa is losing 1 million euros ($1.2 million) every two hours, “a significant improvement” over the low point of the COVID-19 crisis, the German airline group’s chief executive said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Lufthansa, which was racking up losses at twice that rate at one point last year, has cut costs and pared back flights to those generating positive cash thanks to buoyant cargo rates, CEO Carsten Spohr said in a webcast interview hosted by Eurocontrol. The group last year received a 9 billion euro bailout in which the German government took a 20% stake.

The Irish High Court said on Friday it had granted an extension to Norwegian Air’s creditor protection, as requested by the examiner overseeing the process, Reuters reported. The extension to Feb. 25 was granted after a lawyer representing the Irish examiner told the court that the examiner believed the budget carrier had a reasonable prospect of survival. Norway’s government backed the airline’s survival plan on Thursday, saying it would stump up cash if private investors did too. “I will grant that application and extend the time for reporting...

If one of the main reasons coronavirus infection rates remain so high is that people refuse to self-isolate, paying them to stay home could make a difference. But doing so isn’t just expensive, it risks some unintended consequences, according to a Bloomberg commentary. The U.K. Department of Health is reportedly recommending a plan to pay workers 500 pounds ($683) to self-isolate, according to a leaked document detailed by the Guardian on Friday.

Norway backed Norwegian Air’s survival plan on Thursday as Industry Minister Iselin Nyboe said that the government had no intention of being a shareholder but would stump up cash if private investors did too, Reuters reported. The heavily indebted budget carrier, which has been forced to ground all but six of its 138 aircraft due to the coronavirus crisis, asked the government for help last week. Norwegian was granted bankruptcy protection by courts in Ireland and Norway last year as it seeks to shed much of its debt. It plans to end its long-haul service.