Italy was quick to rebuff the European Commission’s latest criticism of its budget, accusing it of sloppy and outdated analysis, Bloomberg News reported. Shortly after the European Commission published its latest forecasts for Italy, most of which were more pessimistic than the government’s, Finance Minister Giovanni Tria said the numbers come from an “inadequate and partial analysis.” He added that the EU ignored “clarifications provided by Italy.” Rome’s unusually strong response included another refusal to change its budget targets, despite demands from the EU.

UniCredit SpA Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Mustier’s turnaround plans hit a last-minute hurdle after the bank cut key targets and took a charge related to its Turkish bank, Bloomberg News reported. The lender surprised investors with an 850 million-euro ($972 million) charge to revalue Istanbul-based Yapi Kredi Bankasi AS and said it’s increasing funds to cover a potential settlement related to U.S. sanctions over Iran. The Milan-based bank also lowered targets for revenue and a key measure of financial strength this year and next, while keeping its 2019 profit target intact.

The state appointed commissioners running Alitalia will complete their examination of the proposals received for the sale of the company next week, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The commissioners for the Italian carrier said last week they had received two binding offers and one non-binding expression of interest, but gave no details of the bids, Reuters reported.

Insurer FBD Holdings’ original backer subscribed for €20 million worth of loan notes used in clearing a €70 million debt to Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings, The Irish Times reported. Farmer Business Developments plc, FBD’s founder and one of its biggest shareholders, confirmed that it subscribed for €20 million of the €50 million loan notes used in the insurer’s recent restructuring. This allowed FBD to buy out Fairfax’s loan, which the Canadian group could otherwise have converted to shares.

Eurozone retail sales volumes were flat in September compared to August, and growth over the year fell to 0.8 per cent, the lowest annual change since October last year according to official data from Eurostat, the Financial Times reported. The data add further weight to the premise that an economic slowdown is on the horizon for the currency union area. Bert Colijn, ING economist, said this is a sign that the current “goldilocks” economic conditions, not too hot and not too cold, are coming to an end. “The porridge has become a little hot in 2018 as inflation bumped up….

Five top German government advisers have warned that the country’s economic growth is set to slow dramatically this year, in what would be a sharp downturn in the fortunes of the eurozone’s economic powerhouse, the Financial Times reported. The annual report by Germany’s Council of Economic Experts, an independent group set up to monitor the economy and advise the government, forecast growth of 1.6 per cent this year and 1.5 per cent in 2019 — markedly worse than 2017’s six-year high of 2.2 per cent.

Toshiba is set to liquidate UK nuclear arm NuGen, according to people familiar with the company, dealing a hammer blow to plans to build a new plant at Moorside in Cumbria. The Japanese conglomerate, whose board is meeting on Thursday, is almost certain to take the decision to wind up NuGen after all avenues to sell the unit were exhausted, the Financial Times reported. “It is 80 per cent likely that Toshiba will decide at the board meeting to wind it up,” a source close to NuGen told the Financial Times.

The London restaurant scene has suffered its worst year for closures in decades as a rapid expansion turned to bust, the Financial Times reported. About 117 independent restaurants closed in London in the 12 months to September 2018, 40 per cent more than last year and surpassing 2003’s peak of 113, according to Harden’s London Restaurants guide. “There are just too many restaurants out there,” said Peter Harden, who has compiled the guide, now in its 28th year.

Deutsche Post DHL Group expects a restructuring at its troubled post and parcel division to start bearing fruit next year, as it reported a smaller-than-expected decline in third-quarter operating profit, Reuters reported. The rapid growth in parcel shipments thanks to the popularity of online retailers such as Amazon and Zalando has been both a boon and a burden for Deutsche Post as price increases have not kept pace with rising transport costs.

UK restaurant chain Prezzo said trading remains challenging even after it closed more than 100 restaurants, restructured its debts and its main backer wrote off two-thirds of its investment, the Financial Times reported. The Italian-themed chain, which now has 186 rather than 300 restaurants, is majority owned by TPG, a private equity group that bought it off the stock market for £304m in 2014. However, a debt-for-equity swap has diluted TPG’s stake and turned five debt providers into shareholders.