In communities across Britain, funding from London was shrinking to nothing — the central equation of national austerity, the Internation

Five more people have been arrested in the investigation into the collapse of British cafe chain Patisserie Valerie after accounting irregularities were discovered last year, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Sunday, the Irish Times reported. The new arrests bring the total detained to six. Patisserie Holdings’ former finance director Chris Marsh, who had helped grow the company from eight stores to more than 200, was arrested and released on bail over the scandal last year. Police did not name those arrested this month.

Earlier this month, following the collapse of merger talks with Commerzbank in April, Deutsche Bank’s share price hit the lowest point of its 149-year history. Fitch, a credit-rating agency, cut the bank’s rating to two notches above junk. In May Christian Sewing, its chief executive, promised “tough cutbacks” in the ailing investment-banking business, with plans to be laid out alongside half-year results on July 24th. But on June 16th a leak in the Financial Times revealed the outlines. The cuts (which Deutsche has not confirmed) go well beyond its investment-banking arm.

Pressures are clearly building for a once-in-a-decade blitz in the stock market by the end of next year. Though the market has experienced some choppiness lately, last year’s turmoil is generally viewed more as a fleeting nightmare than as a cautionary tale, the Financial Times reported in a commentary. Nonetheless, investors should pay heed as the sell-off exposed some alarming fragilities. In essence, the market has flashed a sneak preview of its true crash potential.

A multi-million euro aid package has been agreed to support Irish beef farmers who have been hit by market uncertainty because of Brexit . EU member states on Thursday voted in favour of a proposal from the European Commission to make €50 million available to farmers, which can be matched by national funds to take the total to €100 million. The move comes as State authorities estimate that farmers have lost over €100 million over the last 12 months due to a drop in prices, with margins in the beef and veal sector having fallen by between 11 to 19 per cent.

Over €39.82 million remains unpaid to the Revenue Commissioners in taxes, penalties and interest from tax defaulters who were named last year and in 2017, the Irish Times reported. Figures provided by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe show that €15.5 million remains unpaid by published tax defaulters in tax, penalties and interest from 2018. In a written Dáil reply to Joan Burton TD, Mr Donohoe confirmed that a further €24.2 million remains unpaid in taxes, penalties and interest from the 2017 lists of published tax defaulters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed international sanctions and falling energy prices for declining incomes that have led to a drop in living standards for average Russians and caused mounting social discontent. The demise in quality of life has contributed to a battering in Mr. Putin’s domestic approval ratings and the negative sentiment threatens to overshadow his almost two decades in power. In his annual “Direct Line,” a carefully choreographed event where citizens submit questions via phone, video calls and the internet, Mr.

Morningstar has suspended its rating on a fund run by H2O Asset Management because of its holdings of illiquid bonds, after a Financial Times investigation into the substantial holdings related to a controversial German financier, the Financial Times reported. The agency, whose assessments are used as a key guide for investors, suspended its bronze rating on H2O’s Allegro Fund, citing concerns over “the liquidity of certain bonds”.

Iceland is preparing for a deeper recession this year amid dropping tourism arrivals and a failed capelin season, central bank Governor Mar Gudmundsson said, Bloomberg News reported. “We are prepared for the possibility of a deeper recession, and the numbers we are getting on tourist arrivals seem to indicate that that may happen,” Gudmundsson said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

U.K. hotel operator Whitbread Plc and leather-goods maker Mulberry Group Plc reported lower sales in their home market as the uncertainty around Brexit erodes business prospects, Bloomberg News reported. Whitbread said Wednesday that first-quarter comparable sales dropped 3.7%. Mulberry reported U.K. revenue fell 6% in the year through March, driving it to a 5 million-pound ($6.3 million) pretax loss. The reports add to a litany of U.K.