Germany had the highest number of unemployed in twelve years in 2025 and this year will continue to be challenging for Europe's biggest economy, the labour office said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The average number of jobless in 2025 rose by 161,000 to 2.948 million, the highest annual figure since 2013, according to the labour office. Although the trough has probably been reached, a slight easing is not expected until the middle of the year at the earliest, said labour office head Andrea Nahles.

Administrators at Begbies Traynor confirmed the extension on Monday (5 January), following a previous year-long extension in November 2024, ConstructionWave.co.uk reported. This latest extension could see the administration process continue until February 2029. Based in Romford, Readie Construction employed 260 staff and specialised in new builds, refurbishments, and fit-outs.

The owners of Southend United Football Club say they expect to write off funds owed to them by the side's former owner, BBC.com reported. Ron Martin, who owned the club 1998-2024, was made bankrupt following a hearing at the Chief Insolvency and Companies Court on Tuesday. A consortium, Custodians of Southend United (Cosu), completed a lengthy takeover of the National League side in May 2024, after it came close to extinction.

A pension fund for more than 10,000 German dentists has launched legal action against its former auditor, an external adviser and several ex-managers after suffering investment losses of over €1.1 billion (about C$1.77 billion), OralHealthGroup.org reported. Versorgungswerk der Zahnärztekammer Berlin (VZB), which manages roughly €2.2 billion (C$3.55 billion) for dentists in Berlin, Brandenburg and Bremen, said the losses were significant enough to prompt a corruption probe by Berlin prosecutors.

Germany’s unemployment rate held steady in the last month of 2025, though actual jobless numbers inched higher, signaling an economy that still lacks momentum, the Wall Street Journal reported. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% in December, where it has been since March, data from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency published Wednesday said. However, the rate is higher than the start of last year, and there are signals that the German economy is on a weak footing heading into 2026.

Capelli Lux, the Luxembourg arm of French property group Capelli, has entered insolvency proceedings, casting doubt over the future of a major construction project in Howald, the Luxembourg Times reported. On Monday, insolvency proceedings were filed with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register for Capelli Lux, the developer of the stalled South Village project. It follows a decision by the Paris Commercial Court on 3 December 2025 to convert the Capelli group’s receivership into liquidation proceedings.

The UK is in “a slow but consequential transition”, said authors of a new report from the Resolution Foundation, according to EuroNews.com. “Fewer people of working age; a more fragile politics; higher taxes; and an economy that urgently needs new firms and new jobs to replace the old.” Since the financial crisis in 2008, the UK has struggled to use its resources effectively, meaning it has fallen behind competitors in terms of productivity.

Inflation in France cooled in December — a reading that comes after the European Central Bank’s decision to hold interest rates at the end of last year, EuroNews.com reported. Consumer prices (CPI) rose by 0.8% year-on-year in December, following a reading of 0.9% in November, according to statistics body INSEE. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices or HICP, which allows for comparison between EU countries, came to 0.7%. That followed a reading of 0.8% in November.

Headline inflation in the Irish economy moderated to less than 3 per cent in December, the Irish Times reported. The latest flash estimate for the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) put the annualised rate of price growth at 2.7 per cent in December, down from 3.1 per cent in November. Euro zone inflation was clocked at 2.1 per cent in November. Eurostat will publish figures for December on Tuesday.

High street chains Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) are being put into administration, after their owner said “last-ditch” measures had fallen through, putting about 2,500 UK staff at risk of redundancy. The two retailers had already undergone restructuring and were bought by investment firm Modella Capital last year. Modella said it had made the “tough decision” to kickstart insolvency proceedings for the businesses. It will mean 1,355 employees in the UK and Ireland at 154 Claire’s shops will be put at risk, and 1,220 staff across 140 TOFS’ stores.