Industrial production in the eurozone’s two largest economies declined in the first month of President Trump’s global tariff blitz, a sign that an economic slowdown is underway after a start to the year that was even stronger than first estimated, the Wall Street Journal reported. German industrial output contracted 1.4% on month in April, statistics agency Destatis said Friday. That offset much of the 2.3% jump in output in March, when U.S. firms stockpiled imports to get ahead of the impact from expected tariffs. Trade data, also published Friday, showed goods exports to the U.S.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that he would pursue a deal under which U.S. cars could be imported into Europe duty free in exchange for tariff waivers on the same number of vehicles exported to the United States, Reuters reported. Speaking at an event in Berlin just hours after his inaugural trip to Washington for talks with U.S.

Britain's financial regulator is to remove a ban on consumers buying crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs), ditching its previous position of wanting to keep them out of the hands of retail investors, Reuters reported. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday that allowing retail investors to buy ETNs would support growth and competitiveness, in the latest sign that the UK is shifting its approach to crypto as the government seeks to grow the economy and support a digital assets industry.

Russia’s central bank on Friday lowered its key interest rate for the first time since late 2022 despite an inflation rate that remains well above target, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Russia cut its key rate to 20% from 21%, and said it expects the economy to return to a more “balanced” growth path after a surge in activity and prices as workers and resources were employed for the war in Ukraine.

Builder.ai filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. after creditors seized most of the cash in the British startup’s bank accounts, Bloomberg News reported. The company published a list of creditors in a chapter 7 case in a Delaware bankruptcy court, Builder.ai said in a filing dated June 2. Read more. (Subscription required.)

A liquidator has been appointed for the bankrupt charity that ran two public leisure centres in Lincoln, BBC.com reported. Yarborough and Birchwood leisure centres closed on 3 April after Active Nation ceased trading. Stockport-based firm Beesley Corporate Recovery has been appointed to handle the charity's insolvency process. Both facilities are expected to fully reopen by mid-July after City of Lincoln Council, which owns the buildings, chose charitable social enterprise Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) as the interim operator for them.

Builder's merchant Blanchford Building Supplies racked up debts of more than £3.3million to suppliers before it fell into administration, YahooNews.com reported. The 75-year-old Headington-based business closed down ‘without warning’ earlier this year without giving any reason. All four of Blanchford's shops in Bicester, Wallingford, Princes Risborough and Haddenham closed on February 14. Timothy Townley and Danny Dartnaill, of business restructuring specialist BDO LLP, were appointed as joint administrators in mid-February.

The commercial court in Zagreb has scheduled a hearing for July 1 to decide on a proposal to open bankruptcy proceedings against media leasing and planning company Unex Media, SeeNews.com reported. The company has flied for bankruptcy on May 26, the court said on Wednesday. The company’s account has been blocked since February 11 and its debt as of June 4 amounts to 2.07 million euro.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates as expected on Thursday and said it believed it was now well-positioned to cope with global economic uncertainty, as market bets grew on a summer pause in its year-long easing cycle, Reuters reported. The ECB has now lowered borrowing costs eight times, or by 2 percentage points since last June, seeking to prop up a euro zone economy that was struggling even before erratic U.S. economic and trade policies dealt it further blows.

Few British businesses now expect to be directly affected by recent changes in U.S. trade policy, with only 12% naming it as one of their top three sources of uncertainty, down from 22% a month earlier, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs on imports to the United States in early April. Britain secured a partial exemption from the tariffs in early May, although the details are still to be finalised. The BoE said 70% of businesses surveyed in May as part of its monthly Decision Maker Panel expected that U.S.