A vote by European Union lawmakers to soften capital rules for banks that offload large amounts of bad loans is meeting resistance and could be ditched, officials said, in what would be a blow to Italian lenders profiting from the planned reform. Under a proposal adopted by the economic affairs committee of the European Parliament last Tuesday, EU banks that carry out “massive disposals” of non-performing loans, covering at least 15 percent of all defaulted debt, would be allowed to set aside less capital against losses, Reuters reported.

In a way, the debt relief deal Greece has received as it exits its bailout makes good sense: It keeps the country on a tight leash, all but eliminating the possibility that it will go on a borrowing spree in the financial markets and misspend the money as it’s done before, a Bloomberg View reported. On the other hand, the scheme gets superimposed uncomfortably onto the country’s political cycle: It puts the next government on the spot, making a backlash against it all but inevitable.

Business confidence in France was higher than expected in June, with a particular uptick in optimism in the services sector, but the manufacturing sector continued to lose steam, according to the latest survey data from IHS Markit, the Financial Times reported. France’s flash composite purchasing managers’ index rose to a two-month high of 55.6 and the services PMI rose to 56.4, both higher readings than the figures expected by economists in a Reuters poll, (54.2 and 54.3 respectively).

Germany’s dominant factory sector faced stronger headwinds this month, with a key gauge sinking to its lowest level in a year in a half, in the latest sign that the eurozone has failed to escape its rough patch in the second quarter, the Financial Times reported. IHS Markit’s manufacturing PMI slipped to 55.9 in June from 56.9 the previous month. The reading was worse than the 56.2 consensus estimate in a poll conducted by Reuters, albeit well above the 50 level that indicates expansion.

European Union finance ministers agreed on Friday to double a war chest for dealing with failing banks and boost powers of the euro zone bailout fund, but were split over whether to have a mechanism to restructure government debt or a euro zone budget, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. All the EU's finance ministers except Britain, which will leave the bloc in March, discussed ideas for deeper economic integration of the euro zone.

Euro zone finance ministers and leaders will seek agreement in the next eight days on a series of reforms to make the currency area more resilient to future crises, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Below are ideas for new powers for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the euro zone bailout fund for states with a firepower of 500 billion euros (438.5 billion pounds), discussed by finance ministers and to be considered by a European Union summit on June 29.

Crisis-hit Steinhoff will sell Austrian property assets valued at 490 million euros (428.3 million pounds) to tycoon Rene Benko's Signa Holding, it said on Friday, the latest sale by the South African retailer following an accounting scandal, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Steinhoff has been battling to stay afloat since last December when it revealed holes in its accounts that sent its shares crashing and forced it into selling some of its assets to pay down debt and beef up its liquidity.

House of Fraser’s creditors have approved the recovery plan proposed by the department store chain to close more than half its shops in an effort to avoid financial collapse, putting up to 6,000 jobs at risk, the Financial Times reported. As part of the restructuring, the retailer will close 31 of its 59 UK stores, including flagship properties on London’s Oxford Street and in Cardiff, and will drastically reduce the rents on 10 other outlets, under a company voluntary agreement.

Do markets look a little weird right now? That is a question many investors might be asking. In recent weeks geopolitical tensions have intensified, and the monetary policy cycle is turning in both the US and Europe. Equity markets quivered on Monday, which was the day after China said it would retaliate against new US tariffs by imposing tariffs of its own, but the jitters were modest, the Financial Times reported in a commentary. Indeed, the MSCI world equity index is up 10 per cent up for the past 12 months — never mind that pesky trade war. This is odd.

France and Germany’s “historic” agreement to establish a eurozone budget has run into immediate opposition from hawkish governments that are sceptical of plans to create a fiscal capacity for the single currency area, the Financial Times reported. Eurozone finance ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today for the first eurogroup gathering since a Franco-German deal this week on the next steps to reform monetary union. It includes a plan to develop a euro-area budget to help economies “converge” and boost investment during downturns.