The German government has revised down its forecast for economic growth next year from 1.5 per cent to 1 per cent, in a further sign of the slowdown that is clouding the prospects for the eurozone’s largest economy, the Financial Times reported. The economics ministry did not change its projection of 0.5 per cent growth in gross domestic product in 2019. Germany’s economy has been roiled by global trade tensions, Brexit-related uncertainty and upheaval in the auto industry.

United Group, a private equity-owned cable company, is in exclusive talks to buy Vivacom, Bulgaria’s largest telecoms group, according to people familiar with the situation, the Financial Times reported. The company, owned by BC Partners, is nearing a deal for Vivacom, which went up for sale in July, the people said. Buyout firm KKR also owns a minority stake in United Group. Vivacom was expected to be valued at about €1.2bn based on recent deals in the region for telecom assets, people involved in the sale said.

U.K. retail sales held up better than expected in September in the face of the intensifying Brexit crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The quantity of goods sold rose 0.2% from August when auto fuel is excluded, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. Sales including fuel were unchanged. Both measures were forecast to decline for a second month. A buoyant labor market has supported consumer spending through the turmoil since the 2016 referendum. While heightened uncertainty ahead of the Oct.

Liquidator Grant Thornton is seeking litigation funding to step up its hunt for 500 million pounds ($632.30 million) invested in UK company Euro Forex, which Chinese police have said was a pyramid scheme, Reuters reported. Reuters reported in 2016 how Euro Forex, or EuroFX, allegedly scammed thousands of investors in China and other countries. EuroFX had a British CEO and headquarters and has since been wound up. A pyramid scheme does not make real investments, but instead uses cash from new investors to pay older ones.

Two companies in Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud’s property empire have gone into liquidation, weeks after it was revealed that investors in his projects faced huge losses, The Irish Times reported. KPMG has been appointed to manage the liquidation of HAB Land and subsidiary firm HAB Land Finance.

Eurozone inflation slowed to its lowest level in nearly three years and further diverged from the central bank’s target as exports contracted, raising fears of a sharp economic slowdown, the Financial Times reported. Consumer prices dropped to 0.8 per cent in September from a year earlier, from 1 per cent in August and below the initial estimates of 0.9 per cent, official data from Eurostat revealed. This was the slowest annual rise in consumer prices since November 2016.

The company that holds the store leases of camera retailer Jessops has filed for administration in a bid to restructure its obligations and cut its outgoings, according to people briefed on the matter, the Financial Times reported. JR Prop manages the leases for Jessops under a structure similar to that used by the sub-brands of fashion retailer Arcadia. It has filed a notice of intent to appoint ReSolve as administrators, a move that affords the company creditor protection for a period of 10 days. The group’s main trading company, Jessops Europe, is unaffected by the move.

Italy’s cabinet has agreed a draft budget that aims to keep deficit broadly stable while cutting taxes for lower earners and clamping down on evasion, clearing the first important collaborative hurdle for the country’s two-month-old coalition, the Financial Times reported.

When it comes to Brexit, investors have endured three years of deadlines and disappointments. Now with a finish line tantalizingly in sight, they have switched from expectations it could last forever to perhaps pricing the endgame, Bloomberg News reported. As talks toward a deal enter overtime, negotiators from Britain and the European Union will still need official approval for any accord, and on the U.K. side that means Prime Minister Boris Johnson must win the support of Parliament. It could prove a formidable challenge, yet across multiple asset classes optimism is surging.

Companies are stepping up purchases of insurance to protect themselves against insolvencies in Britain, industry sources say, in part due to concerns about the impact of Brexit, Reuters reported. The UK economy is feeling the pinch from the political uncertainty, which has hit consumer spending and led to a drop in the value of the pound. This has contributed to high-profile company collapses like that of travel firm Thomas Cook, which also suffered under the weight of its debt pile.