A sell-off in eurozone government bonds has left German yields at their highest level in a year, challenging investors who have long become accustomed to low inflation and weak economies keeping market interest rates at record low levels, the Financial Times reported. In France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Austria bond yields have broken through 12-month highs as investors focus on the accelerating pace of inflation, grapple with extra supply and question the longevity of the aggressive central bank stimulus that has dominated fixed-income markets.

The Royal Bank of Scotland said on Thursday that it would set aside an additional $3.8 billion in its fourth quarter for investigations and litigation in the United States, even as rivals have reached settlements with the American authorities, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. The bank, which is 73 percent owned by the British government after a bailout during the financial crisis, is looking to address legacy legal issues as its chief executive, Ross McEwan, aims to turn around the lender’s prospects.

Greece's prime minister on Wednesday marked two years in office, promising "not another euro" of new austerity measures by his left-wing government, as talks with bailout lenders over deeper cuts remain at an impasse, the International New York Times reported. Alexis Tsipras , 42, defeated established political parties in elections on Jan. 25, 2015 on a promise to scrap existing bailout agreements and austerity measures.

A European Central Bank executive board member has reignited debate over how quickly the bank should end its aggressive monetary stimulus, saying conditions were in place for a further rise in eurozone prices, the Financial Times reported. Sabine Lautenschläger, seen as the most hawkish member of the executive board, said she was “optimistic that we can soon turn to the question of an exit” from the loose monetary policy. “All preconditions for a stable rise in inflation exist,” she said in a speech in Hamburg.

Reducing debt in 2017 may be the best course of action for SAP SE, The Wall Street Journal reported. The German software maker is not under much pressure to repurchase shares and make acquisitions, analysts say. Finance chief Luka Mucic told analysts on a conference call Tuesday that share repurchases are an option in the second half of the year, depending on the company’s cash position. Free cash flow increased 21% year-over-year to €3.63 billion ($3.89 billion). Net liquidity improved by almost €2.5 billion or 44% in 2016, Mr. Mucic said. Mark Moerdler, an analyst at Sanford C.

UK banks risk losing their privileges to do business in the European Union, unless the British government agrees to abide by financial regulation decided in Brussels even after Britain leaves the union, the head of the group of euro-area finance ministers said, the Irish Times reported. “It is unthinkable that the EU will allow UK-based financial institutions full access to do business in the internal market without a sustainable coupling of future dynamic UK standards to the EU framework,” Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said in a speech in Brussels on Tuesday.

The Minister for Transport Shane Ross needs to realise that the only solution to the crisis at Bus Éireann will be for him to convene talks involving all stakeholders, including the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority, unions have argued. Management at the company is expected to reiterate to an Oireachtas committee on Wednesday that the State-owned transport operator faces running out of money within the next 18 months or so and that all 2,600 jobs in the company are in jeopardy, the Irish Times reported.

Swiss commodities trader Glencore Plc is considering additional sugar and ethanol mills takeovers in Brazil, where it recently bought a second plant, to ramp up operations in the world's No. 1 sugar producer, three people familiar with the plan said on Tuesday. According to the first source, who asked for anonymity because the plans remain private, Glencore is seeking to add another mill to the portfolio of two it already has in order to expand its production cluster in Sao Paulo state. The person declined to elaborate on potential targets.

For many observers the benefits of unconventional and ultra-accommodative monetary policy have not been that obvious, especially in the euro area, where inflation has been weak and remains far from the European Central Bank’s target, the Financial Times reported. It is tempting to judge the effectiveness of central bank policies by “looking out of the window” and to conclude that quantitative easing has not been successful if inflation is far from 2 per cent. We believe this would not only be naive but also the wrong conclusion.

If the U.K. Supreme Court rules against her, Prime Minister Theresa May plans to rush a short bill through Parliament to trigger Brexit by her self-imposed March 31 deadline, Bloomberg News reported. The court’s 11 judges are due to give their verdict on a government appeal against a High Court decision that May should seek the approval of lawmakers before formally starting Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. The ruling will be announced at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in London in a session expected to last five minutes.