The European Central Bank has been told to “accelerate” the process of developing the digital euro—a central bank digital currency, or CBDC—by the European Council, Decrypt.com reported. If the European Parliament passes the necessary regulations in 2026, then the digital euro will be piloted in 2027 and, if successful, formally rolled out across Europe in 2029. Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, announced via social media on Friday that the Governing Council is moving into the “next and final phase” of developing its CBDC.

The number of U.K. businesses in critical financial distress soared in the third quarter, reflecting tax increases, inflation and a challenging economic backdrop, according to a new study, the Wall Street Journal reported. The number of businesses in critical financial distress surged by 78% on year and by 13% on quarter to 55,530 companies, consultancy Begbies Traynor BEG 0.91%increase; green up pointing triangle said in its latest Red Flag Alert report on Thursday.

Polish battery manufacturer BMZ has announced the insolvency of two German subsidiaries: BMZ Germany GmbH and BMZ Holding GmbH, both headquartered in Karlstein am Main. As reported by the trade agency electrive, citing an official release by the company, both insolvency proceedings have been initiated under self-administration and were approved by the Aschaffenburg local court on October 24, Sustainable-Bus.com reported. In the bus business, BMZ is mainly know as the provider of NMC4 modules adopted by Daimler Buses on its eCitaro range (starting in 2026), as announced already in 2024.

The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank held its deposit facility rate at 2% on Thursday for the third consecutive meeting, EuroNews reported. The bank’s deposit rate remained unchanged for the third meeting in a row. Keeping rates in a steady holding pattern for a third meeting suggests the ECB believes inflation is largely under control after having fallen from double-digit highs triggered by post-pandemic supply shocks and the energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The eurozone economy grew more than expected in the three months through September as it adjusted to higher U.S. tariffs, and recent surveys show tentative signs of a German-led recovery as a tumultuous year draws to a close, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product in the 20-nation eurozone increased 0.2% in the third quarter, compared with a 0.1% rise in the second, and a 0.6% jump in the first, European Union data agency Eurostat said Thursday. Annualized eurozone growth was 0.9%, from 0.5% in second quarter.

U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producer Rosneft have rekindled discussions in Germany about nationalising the company's business there, including a refinery that Berlin depends on for most of its fuel, two sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. The situation highlights the complex web linking Germany with Russia, which supplied Europe's industrial powerhouse with energy in the decades leading up to the war in Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday it had issued a licence exempting Rosneft's German arm from the U.S.

The latest study conducted by Coface Romania shows that in the first 8 months of this year, 4,561 new insolvency proceedings were opened compared to 4,657 in the same period from 2024, RomaniaJournal.ro reported. Refused payment instruments continued to increase in the first eight months of 2025 by 10% in number and 21% in value compared to to 2024. The wholesale and retail trade/repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector reported the highest number of insolvencies, namely 1,131.

New Fortress Energy, a U.S. liquid natural gas (LNG) infrastructure firm, is considering restructuring its $9 billion debt via a U.K. “scheme of arrangement” rather than filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S., according to Bloomberg News. This court-supervised U.K. process could be cheaper and less disruptive to the company’s contracts than a typical U.S. bankruptcy proceeding.

One-time Irish property mogul Seán Dunne’s long-shot effort to delay distribution of more than $16 million in assets from his decade-plus bankruptcy case in the United States succeeded on Tuesday, the Irish Times reported. After hearing more than hour of argument from Mr. Dunne and lawyers for the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, Judge Julie Manning said that she would hold off on approving the final report and distribution of the funds until she reviews the record and rules on issues Mr. Dunne raised. Mr.

The strong pace of the Spanish economy moderated in the third quarter of the year, as robust household spending and solid employment trends were countered by slowing exports as trade uncertainty persisted through the summer, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy increased 0.6% in the three months through September, a modest slowdown from the 0.8% in the second quarter, statistics agency INE said Wednesday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected 0.7% growth.