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.

The government will not rescue universities that are struggling financially, the higher education regulator warned on Tuesday. Michael Barber, chair of the Office for Students, told delegates at the Wonkfest higher education conference that the regulator would assess financial sustainability and good governance, but its role was to “protect student interests”, not “bail out providers in financial difficulty,” the Financial Times reported.

Italian business executives are sounding the alarm. The composite purchasing managers’ index that tracks both services and manufacturing sectors in the Italian economy fell to 49.3 in October, the lowest reading since November 2013 and below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction, the Financial Times reported. Data published last week had already pointed to the first contraction in the manufacturing sector since 2016. But on Tuesday, fresh data showed the services sector had followed suit, dragging the composite indicator with it.

Norwegian drillship and rig operator Fred. Olsen Energy, proposes to sell one of its drilling units and to issue $130-140 million in new equity to pay off debt, as part of a refinancing plan published on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The proposal includes issuing about $90 million in new loan capital, paying $580 million to settle outstanding secured debt, and converting bond debt into equity. Existing shares of the company will represent approximately one percent of the share capital after the restructuring.

Investors in a Schroders Plc real estate fund that owns some of London’s priciest offices are seeking to withdraw almost one-fifth of the 836 million pounds ($1.09 billion) pool as Brexit-related worries have mounted, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some 150 million pounds in redemption requests at the West End of London Property Unit Trust have prompted restructuring talks that could result in a sale of the fund or a change of manager, among other options, said the people, asking not to be identified as the negotiations are private, Bloomberg News reported.