Years of stagnant wage growth have left more than 1m of Britain’s low-income households struggling with debt problems, according to a report from the TUC, the Financial Times reported. The trade union group argues that even though record-low interest rates have kept the cost of servicing debt at historic lows, many households are acutely financially vulnerable. Based on its analysis of official and survey data, the TUC report estimates that, of 1.6m households in what it terms “extreme problem debt”, 1.2m have an income of below £30,000.

Famous Eurosceptic Joseph Stiglitz suggested there will be disaster across the bloc, with the euro causing havoc in several member states, Express reported. Nobel prize winning Mr Stiglitz served as a feather-ruffling chief economist for the World Bank. Despite Brexit scaremongering being rife across the UK, Eurosceptic Stiglitz has suggested the real tough times will be for the union. His book How to Save the Euro suggests, on its current course, the euro is certain to fail — and indeed, that it was fatally flawed from birth.

As Italy and Europe more broadly struggle to come to grips with an escalating problem with bad loans, a new paper by economists connected to the Center for Economic Policy Research, a European policy shop, highlights the extent to which Italy’s main banks — known to be the weakest in the eurozone in terms of cash reserves — have stepped up their lending to the country’s most troubled companies, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported.

German oilseed crushing mill Naturoel Anklam has filed for insolvency at a local court, said its parent, German farm company KTG Agrar which is itself insolvent, Reuters reported. Naturoel Anklam, based in Anklam in east Germany, processes about 100,000 tonnes of oilseeds annually, especially rapeseed. The reason for the mill's insolvency application is a disputed tax payment demand, KTG Agrar said in a statement late on Wednesday. KTG Agrar itself filed for insolvency proceedings in July and is undergoing restructuring.

European Central Bank policy makers warned at their July meeting that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union created fresh headwinds for the eurozone and could affect the world economy, suggesting they may be ready to launch fresh stimulus as soon as next month to shore up the bloc’s economy, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Oil and gas companies operating in Norway, western Europe’s biggest producer, cut investment forecasts further for this year and next as they continue to weather a two-year long collapse in crude prices, Bloomberg News reported. Investments in Norway’s offshore oil and gas industry are now expected to fall to 163 billion kroner ($20 billion) in 2016, down from a 166 billion-krone estimate in May, according to a quarterly survey published by Statistic Norway on Wednesday. The estimate for 2017 fell to 151 billion kroner from 153 billion kroner.

Debt in the world's top 30 steel companies totals a record $150 billion (£115.05 billion), international accountancy firm EY said on Thursday, adding governments' action to support the sector would work only if matched with more radical industry restructuring. Overcapacity and weak steel prices have piled pressure on firms such as Tata Steel, which is in merger talks with German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp.

Big investment banks with their European headquarters in London will start the process of moving jobs from the UK within weeks of the government triggering Brexit, sources said. That is a faster timeline than their public messages of patience would imply, said sources briefed on the plans being drawn up by four of the biggest firms, the Irish Times reported. Dismayed by the lack of a clear plan to protect the UK’s status as a global financial hub, executives are planning for the worst – that they will lose the right to sell services freely around the European Union from the City.

British inflation rose to a higher-than-expected 0.6 per cent last month as the increasing cost of motor fuels and second-hand cars drove up transport prices, the Irish Times reported. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in July was up from 0.5 per cent in June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Economists were expecting the figure to be unchanged.

The bed bank arm of Lowcost Travel Group, Lowcostbeds, had yet to enter insolvency this week, raising fears of knock-on failures and of holidaymakers arriving at hotels to find rooms unpaid for. Lowcost Travel ceased trading on July 15 with up to 300,000 customers of online agent Lowcost Holidays booked or abroad and a £65 million black hole in its accounts.