U.S. President Donald Trump's planned tariffs will be negative across the world, with the damage depending on how far they go, how long they last and whether they lead to successful negotiations, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The Trump administration on Wednesday is set to announce "reciprocal tariffs" targeting nations that have duties on U.S. goods. That move would come after it slapped new import levies on products from Mexico, China and Canada - the top U.S. trading partners - as well as on goods including steel and autos.

The French government is preparing to lower its growth forecast for this year, said work minister Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet on Wednesday, EuroNews.com reported. "We're more likely to be looking at 0.7%, which is the Bank of France's growth forecast," said the junior minister, interviewed by media channel France 2. That’s a revision from the state’s current prediction of 0.9%, used as a basis for France’s yearly finance bill. It also comes after economy minister Éric Lombard said on Tuesday that the government’s forecast would be lowered in the near future.

Thames Water has appointed a former Pennon Group PLC and Anglian Water executive as its new finance boss after the previous chief quit abruptly last week, MorningStar.co.uk reported. Steve Buck will join next week at a "pivotal" moment for the heavily indebted water group as it searches for a buyer to help stabilise its finances. Buck was formerly the CFO at Pennon, which owns South West Water, and at Anglian Water. He has also held a number of senior finance roles at British Gas owner Centrica PLC, and previously worked for Thames Water between 2002 and 2007.

The U.K. government has been told by a select committee that they must take a tough approach to clawing back taxpayers' money loaned to rugby union teams during the covid-19 pandemic, Worcester News reported. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) loaned £474million in total to 120 organisations in the sport and culture sectors to help them survive the impact of the pandemic, with £123.8m of that loaned to Premiership Rugby clubs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorised Armenian investment fund Balchug Capital to buy shares in nine major companies owned by Goldman Sachs' Russian subsidiary, a decree published on Wednesday showed, Reuters reported. Balchug Capital was given the green light to purchase Goldman Sachs' subsidiary in Russia in January, according to a separate decree, paving the way for the U.S. bank to withdraw from the Russian market and extract some capital stranded there.

U.K. retailer Select Fashion has reportedly collapsed after closing 35 stores last month and left staff without redundancy pay or owed wages, PA Media reported. It is understood that insolvency firm Moorfields has launched a wind down of the womenswear chain after a creditors’ meeting was held last Friday to approve a voluntary liquidation. The group had already shut 35 shops in mid-March having quietly trimmed down its estate since the start of the year.

The annual rate of inflation in the eurozone edged closer to the European Central Bank’s target last month as the currency area’s unemployment rate fell to a fresh record low, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 2.2% higher in March than in the same month last year, an inflation rate that was down from 2.3% in February, the European Union’s statistics body said Tuesday. Services inflation fell markedly to 3.4% over the month, from 3.7% in February, pointing to cooling in an area where prices had previously continued to rise rapidly.

Hydrogen-powered truck manufacturer Quantron has relaunched following insolvency, after a period of “critical reflection, process optimisation and strategic realignment,” H-2View.com reported. Last October, the German OEM filed for insolvency, due to growing debts and delays in paying employee wages. Workers feared that the company was headed for bankruptcy. During insolvency, Quantron maintained core operations with a reduced team of 40, ensured wage payments through pre-financing, and launched a structured sales process to attract investors and secure long-term stability.

Thames Water, the financially stricken utility which has been teetering on the edge of insolvency, is set to be taken over by KKR, the American private equity group, The Times reported. KKR has been selected as a preferred bidder by the Thames Water board for its offer to take control of the shares of the utility in return for what was an original offer of a £4 billion cash injection. The offer envisages creditors taking significant writedowns in their exposure to Thames near-£20 billion of gross debt.

Bankrupt battery maker Northvolt AB will continue to operate in Sweden with a staff of 1,700 while its remaining employees will be laid off, Bloomberg News reported. “Despite significant reductions, it is positive that the business can continue to some extent, which is likely crucial to enabling a full or partial sale of the business,” Northvolt’s bankruptcy trustee, Mikael Kubu, said in an emailed statement.