The European Central Bank is gearing up for its most important meeting of the year, as senior officials gather to decide the fate of the €2.1tn asset purchase scheme that many credit with breathing life into the eurozone recovery, the Financial Times reported. At issue is whether the ECB will declare this week that the economy has recovered sufficiently for quantitative easing to end next year — a pronouncement that would reverberate in foreign exchange markets and could shape interest rate expectations.

Air Berlin is talking to both Britain's easyJet and Thomas Cook's German airline Condor about a sale of its remaining assets, a spokesman for the insolvent airline said on Wednesday, with the race tight, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. "We'll see who crosses the line first. It's neck and neck," he said, confirming a Reuters report from Tuesday.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares will resume trading on Wednesday 10 months after they were suspended when Italy's fourth-largest bank failed to raise capital to bolster its finances, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Monte dei Paschi said on Tuesday that Italy's market watchdog had approved a prospectus for its re-listing. The bank's stock is expected to trade below the 6.49 euro price paid by the state in August when it injected 3.85 billion euros into Monte dei Paschi, implying a large paper loss for the country's taxpayers.

Eurobank has become the latest Greek bank to tap capital markets, selling a covered bond that bankers say is designed to be eligible for ECB purchases, the Financial Times reported. The €500m bond, which matures in 2020, was priced this afternoon at a yield of just below 3 per cent. It represents the lender’s first foray into international markets in three years. Covered bonds, a centuries-old form of European financing, are issued by banks and secured against pools of loans. As such, they provide investors with additional security in the event of default.

Lufthansa plans to scrap the brand name of Austrian airline Niki as it integrates the carrier into its Eurowings budget business, a board member said on Tuesday. Lufthansa signed a 210 million euro ($247 million) deal this month to take over insolvent Air Berlin’s Niki and LG Walter units, plus some short-haul planes, to cement its position as Germany’s biggest carrier and expand its Eurowings budget brand, Reuters reported.

A measure of business conditions in the eurozone fell more than expected this month, with executives in the services sector reporting a slowdown in activity growth, the Financial Times reported. The eurozone composite purchasing managers index slipped to 55.9 in October from 56.7 in the previous month, IHS Markit data show. That was well under the consensus estimate in a Reuters poll of 56.5. Services PMI slipped to a two-month low of 54.9 from 55.8 in September. The factory gauge rose to 58.6 from 58.1. Readings above 50 suggest executives are reporting growth in activity.

Air Berlin is in talks with Thomas Cook airline Condor, as well as Britain’s easyJet over the sale of some of its remaining assets, as time runs out for a deal to be done, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Air Berlin had been in exclusive talks with Lufthansa and easyjet, but while a deal was agreed with Lufthansa for large parts of its business, talks with easyJet continued over the weekend, Reuters reported. “Air Berlin is in talks with two bidders - easyjet and Condor. The race is wide open,” the source said.

Britain's financial watchdog is considering further action against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for its treatment of struggling companies during and after the financial crisis, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. The Financial Conduct Authority on Monday published a detailed summary of a report into RBS's Global Restructuring Group (GRG), after clashing with lawmakers over the disclosure of its full contents. Customers have accused the GRG of pushing ailing firms into bankruptcy to pick up their assets on the cheap.

Like the organiser of a fireworks display, Mario Draghi is about to light the blue touch paper on the European Central Bank’s bonfire of quantitative easing and trust that he does not ignite unwanted blazes in the markets. The ECB president on Thursday is widely expected to announce the long-awaited start of tapering, but how the central bank will scale back a bond-buying programme that began in 2015 is the subject of much conjecture, the Financial Times reported.

Offshore rig company Seadrill has received two additional non-binding proposals from bondholders for a debt restructuring after the Norwegian firm filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, court documents show. The two indications of interest came from bondholders seeking alternatives to the firm’s own plan, Seadrill said in documents submitted late on Friday.