Just days after Spain’s economy was revealed to be far outpacing its peers, Pedro Sanchez’s government has a new message for voters: stop working so much, Bloomberg News reported. In a move that risks invoking international stereotypes about the Mediterranean lifestyle, the premier and his cabinet agreed on Tuesday that employees in the fourth-biggest member of the euro zone should now have a shorter week. The cap on hours will be 37.5 as of the start of next year, down from 40 at present, if the proposed law now passes through parliament.

Truckmaker Scania has stepped in to help Northvolt with the day-to-day running of its flagship plant in northern Sweden, a last-ditch effort to boost quality and output at the struggling electric vehicle battery maker as it scrambles to secure funds, Reuters reported. Since November, Scania has sent members of staff to Northvolt’s Ett plant in Skelleftea, 200 kilometres below the Arctic Circle, according to internal Northvolt documents reviewed by Reuters that outline Scania’s support strategy for the green tech player. The plant employs some 2,500 people.

Administrators of bankrupt Signa Prime Selection AG are preparing to launch the sale of the Vienna Park Hyatt and adjoining luxury retail premises, including Prada’s flagship store, Bloomberg News reported. Real estate investment bank Eastdil Secured LLC has been appointed to offer the properties that are expected to attract bids in the region of €350 million ($361 million) to €370 million, two people said, asking not to be identified as the process is not yet public.

German inflation remained elevated, reminding the European Central Bank that caution is still needed as it continues to lower interest rates, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 2.8% from a year ago in January, matching December’s pace. The report follows weaker-than—anticipated figures earlier Friday from France, which prompted traders to ramp up bets on monetary loosening.

The euro zone's beleaguered manufacturing industry showed some signs of stabilisation at the start of the year as firms brushed off rising costs and the threat of U.S. tariffs to become more upbeat about the outlook, a survey showed. HCOB's final euro zone manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, climbed to 46.6 in January, ahead of a preliminary estimate for 46.1 and closer to the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.

Northvolt AB’s appointed bankruptcy lawyers in the U.S. have sent a letter to creditors in Sweden threatening legal action if they don’t return to the company funds seized by the country’s Enforcement Authority, according to Bloomberg News reported. The steps to recover claims “violate United States federal law and an order from the US Bankruptcy court,” Christopher T. Greco, a lawyer for Kirkland & Ellis LLP, wrote in the letter seen by newspaper Dagens Industri.

Germany’s unemployment rate crept higher in January with manufacturing layoffs gathering steam, reflecting just one of the growing economic challenges facing the next government after upcoming elections, the Wall Street Journal reported. The adjusted unemployment rate in Europe’s largest economy was 6.2% this month, data from the Federal Employment Agency said Friday, up from the 6.1% of December. Registered job vacancies stood at 632,000, around 66,000 fewer than the same point last year. Jobless claims ticked up 11,000 in January, a tad more than the 10,000 of December.

French inflation was stable at the beginning of the year, figures showed Friday, a day after the European Central Bank again lowered its key interest rates amid a eurozone economy going nowhere fast, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 1.8% higher on year in January, the same rate as in December, according to EU-harmomized numbers published by France’s statistics authority. That was a little less than economists had expected, according to a poll compiled by The Wall Street Journal, and keeps inflation below the 2% threshold targeted by the ECB.