It’s hard to imagine the folks at law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) imagined Jim O’Callaghan would speak out against the enriching of lawyers when they asked him to address their conference on dispute resolution this week, the Irish Times reported. That, though, was the basis on which the Minister for Justice said he is reluctant to provide for third party funding of legal actions in the Irish courts.

The insolvency of an operator of a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Germany raises questions about the financial responsibilities for deconstructing the reactor and disposing of its radioactive materials, TheEnergyMix.com reported. HKG, the owner of the nuclear plant Hamm-Uentrop that was opened in 1983 and taken out of service only six years later, filed for insolvency at a court in western state North Rhine-Westphalia, reports Clean Energy Wire, citing the German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche.

German manufacturing orders unexpectedly sank for the fourth straight month in August, as tariff uncertainty over the summer damped international orders, the Wall Street Journal reported. Total orders tumbled 0.8% on month in August, from a 2.7% fall in July, Germany’s statistics agency Destatis said Tuesday. Orders rose in the first quarter in the run-up to the announcement of expected tariffs from the Trump administration at the start of April. Since then, they have slumped. Germany, in common with other European Union members, faces a 15% tariff on most goods imports into the U.S.

French president Emmanuel Macron has called for an urgent plan for stability after the resignation his prime minister triggered a surge in borrowing costs, The Telegraph reported.

The European Union proposed Tuesday cutting free-trade quotas by 47% on steel and steel products, effectively adding large tariffs on imports from countries like China, India, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, which said the measures would wreck the British steel industry, the Associated Press reported. After importing 18.3 million tons, the new quota, additional imports will face up to 50% in new tariffs, a high price akin to U.S. President Donald Trump's steel measures. Neighboring nations like Norway, Iceland and Ukraine will be exempt.

Euro zone finance ministers will discuss on Thursday how they can support the development of euro-denominated stablecoins so as not to leave the rapidly growing market only to the United States, a senior euro zone official said, Reuters reported. Stablecoins are digital tokens that have stable value against a regular currency and are backed by reserves like the currency itself or other assets. The stablecoin market is now around $300 billion, but is forecast to grow tenfold over the next decade, the official said. Almost all stablecoins now are denominated in U.S. dollars and U.S.

German regional solar systems provider Sungrade Photovoltaik has filed for insolvency, facing increasing price pressure, material and supplier issues, as well as volatile market conditions, RenewablesNow.com reported. The Neu-Ulm Local Court ordered on October 2 preliminary insolvency proceedings over the company’s assets, law firm Pluta Rechtsanwalts GmbH said on Monday. Florian Zistler from Pluta was appointed as the preliminary insolvency administrator. According to the statement, Sungrade’s business operations will continue, and existing orders will be fulfilled.

The German retail sector has suffered another major blow as the a large retail group confirms the closure of approximately 70 stores following its insolvency filing, InteriorDaily.com reported. The company, Schlau Brothers Group, which owns both Schlau and Hammer specialty stores, entered self-administered insolvency in summer 2025 amid rising costs and financial strain. While the Hammer chain will be partially salvaged through acquisition, saving around 1,200 jobs, roughly 70 of its 93 locations are still set to shut down.

Retailers in the eurozone saw sales edge higher in August, adding to signs of a modestly resilient economy despite U.S. tariffs and political uncertainty, the Wall Street Journal reported. Retail volumes increased 0.1% across the 20-nation currency area in August from a month earlier, compared with a 0.4% drop in July, statistics agency Eurostat said Monday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had also expected a 0.1% increase. Domestic consumer demand has been expected to prop up the eurozone economy as it takes the hit from U.S. tariffs on its exports.

Germany's unemployment level is expected to fall in the two next years as the long-awaited recovery of Europe's biggest economy gathers pace, a source told Reuters on Monday, citing government forecasts. The forecasts, first published by Reuters on Saturday, will be presented by the economy minister on Wednesday. According to the new government projections, unemployment will edge down from 6.3% this year to 6.2% in 2026, before easing to 6.0% in 2027.