German business confidence unexpectedly dropped in January, cooling hopes that the downturn in the export-led manufacturing sector was on track to stabilise, the Financial Times reported. The Ifo Institute, a Munich-based think-tank, said its measure showing sentiment among the 9,000 German companies it surveys every month had declined to 95.9 in January, from 96.3 in December. That contrasts to economists’ expectations in a Reuters poll of a rise to 97.

The downturn in global trade dragged on at the end of last year, marking the longest period of contraction since the end of the financial crisis, the Financial Times reported.

Business activity in the eurozone remained unexpectedly weak in January, as a decline in the services sector offset a nascent recovery among manufacturers, according to a closely watched survey, the Financial Times reported. The IHS Markit eurozone purchasing managers’ index was unchanged at 50.9 in January, despite expectations for the key indicator of economic health to rise to 51.2 at the start of this year. While German activity rose above expectations, this was offset by weaker data from France, which has been hit by nationwide strikes for several weeks.

Turkish conglomerate Cengiz Holding is prepared to bid for British Steel if the planned sale of the UK company to Jingye collapses, adding to pressure on the Chinese group to finalise the deal in coming weeks, the Financial Times reported. “We are watching developments closely and are ready to make a bid for the whole of British Steel,” said Omer Mafa, chief executive of Cengiz, in a statement on Sunday.

Fitch Ratings raised Greece’s sovereign credit rating by one notch, paving the way for the government to sell more debt in the coming days, Bloomberg News reported. The Mediterranean country’s long-term foreign currency debt was upgraded to BB with a positive outlook from BB-. While Greece hasn’t enjoyed such a high rating by Fitch since the country entered the bailout era in 2010, it’s still two levels below investment grade, highlighting that the Greek government has to do more so as to secure an exit from junk status.

Almost half a million businesses in the UK are in significant financial distress, the highest number on record, according to Begbies Traynor, the insolvency firm, the Financial Times reported. Data from the restructuring specialist found that businesses outside London in particular had shown signs of financial difficulties, raising additional questions for Boris Johnson’s government as it talks about ‘levelling up’ growth in the regions.

Polish carrier LOT is acquiring Thomas Cook’s German airline Condor, creating a leading aviation group in Europe carrying more than 20 million passengers a year, the companies said on Friday. Condor, which according to sources was sold for about 300 million euros ($333 million), operates a fleet of more than 50 aircraft while LOT has a fleet of 80 aircraft, Reuters reported. LOT chief executive Rafal Milczarski said he sees a possible order of around 30 planes from Boeing and Airbus.

Argentina’s top exporter of processed soy, Vicentin, is in talks over a potential takeover deal with firms including European grains giant Glencore to help resolve a debt crisis, according to two sources close to the negotiations, Reuters reported. The near 90-year-old firm, which defaulted on payments to suppliers late last year, has also told grains farmers it owes money to that it will make a debt restructuring offer in the days ahead, the sources said on Friday.

The Chinese group buying British Steel has reached an agreement with trade unions over its rescue of the failed manufacturer, as it races to wrap up a takeover by the end of next month, the Financial Times reported. Executives from Jingye and union officials have reached an understanding for the basis of new employment contracts and other aspects of a turnround plan, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.

One of the riskiest corners of the European bond market is enjoying its busiest January ever as companies rush to grab ultra-cheap yields and some of the more dubious instruments popular ahead of the financial crisis resurface, Bloomberg News reported. Junk-rated borrowers lined up close to 7 billion euros of issuance into the market this week, with sales nearing the 10 billion euro mark ($11 billion) this month, Bloomberg data show.