Companies' demand for bank loans held up in the eurozone in the third quarter, the European Central Bank found in a survey published Tuesday, in a mildly positive sign amid fears of a slowdown, The Business Times reported. "Net demand for loans to enterprises remained broadly unchanged in the third quarter," the ECB said in its quarterly survey of 144 banks across the single currency area. But the steady interest in loans disappointed financial firms' hopes earlier this year that the third quarter would bring growth in demand.

Casino, the French retailer, has moved to further boost its financial position by raising €1.5bn in bank loans and extending its debt maturities for four years. The company said after the market closed on Tuesday that it is raising €1.5bn in new financing in order to refinance part of its existing debt, the Financial Times reported. The group is also working to agree a new syndicated revolving facility for about €2bn, which will mature in October 2023. It said that it has already received commitments for more than €1.6bn from 14 French and international banks.

Spain’s High Court will investigate allegations that Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman acted to depress the share price of DIA when trying to take control of the supermarket chain, a court document seen by Reuters showed, Reuters reported. Fridman’s LetterOne fund denied the allegations on Tuesday, saying in a statement they were “untrue and defamatory”. LetterOne rescued DIA from the brink of insolvency this year after the retailer’s market value fell by 90% in 2018 as it lost out to rising competition.

Swiss bank UBS has announced a $100m overhaul of its investment bank after profits at the division more than halved in the third quarter, contributing to an overall earnings drop despite a resilient performance in wealth management, the Financial Times reported. Pre-tax profit at the investment bank fell to $203m from $489m in the same period last year — well below analysts’ expectations for $290m.

Germany’s central bank warned the country’s economy may have shrunk for its second consecutive three-month period, which would mean the eurozone’s biggest economy has entered its first recession in six years, the Financial Times reported.

A Turkish group’s acquisition of British Steel depends on lowering the cost of contracts the U.K.’s No. 2 steelmaker holds with its suppliers, according to a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. Oyak Group, which manages military pensions, entered exclusive talks in August to buy British Steel, the first step in a rescue that could save about 5,000 jobs in the U.K.’s manufacturing heartland.

Deutsche Bank AG is considering substantial cuts to the unit that trades interest-rate securities, a division that survived a large-scale pullback as part of the lender’s sweeping revamp in July, Bloomberg News reported. Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing has concluded that it’s possible to reduce enough of the associated technology costs to outweigh the loss in revenue, according to people briefed on the matter.

UK-based jeweler Links of London’s fall into administration has led to loss of 38 jobs at its head office in London, administrator Deloitte said on Friday, adding that there have been no job losses in any stores, Reuters reported. The luxury jewelry retailer, owned by Greek Folli Follie, has around 28 standalone stores across the UK and Ireland along with seven kiosks and employed 350 people when it appointed administrators earlier this month.

Danske Bank’s headquarters in Copenhagen, reminiscent of a Greek temple, speaks of an illustrious past, The Economist reported. But Denmark’s biggest bank has “no vanity left”, says a spokesman. Since 2008 it has been embroiled in a disaster every five years. After one during the financial crisis, it was again in crisis mode in 2013 when the board sacked Eivind Kolding after 18 catastrophic months at its helm. Last year Thomas Borgen, Mr Kolding’s successor, resigned amid revelations about Danske’s role in a vast money-laundering scandal.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s most important economies gave their backing to international efforts to find a new way of taxing the profits of multinational companies, the Financial Times reported. Meeting in Washington, the G20 welcomed the recent progress and the announcement last week of an OECD initiative to find a compromise way of taxing profits, particularly of tech giants.