Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that “very big decisions” will be needed to stop Britain’s public debt pile spiraling higher, as he gave his backing to the government’s efforts to boost growth, Bloomberg News reported. Bailey told lawmakers on Wednesday that climate change, an aging population and an end to the “post-Cold War dividend” on defense spending are “very big structural headwinds” facing the already-stretched public finances.

The European Central Bank lowered borrowing costs for a fifth time since June, with the region’s economy stalling and the 2% inflation target in reach, Bloomberg News reported. Investors maintained bets for further easing, pricing an additional 70 basis points of cuts during the rest of 2025. The euro held earlier losses, trading down 0.2% at about $1.0405. European bonds continued to trade higher.

The eurozone economy returned to stagnation as 2024 drew to a close, a blow to its hopes for a recovery as it braces for the possibility that U.S. President Trump will deliver a long-threatened increase in tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. The currency area’s economy has struggled to recover from a sharp rise in energy and food prices triggered by Europe’s largest military conflict in eight decades, even as the U.S. economy forged ahead.

Consumer prices unexpectedly picked up pace in Spain in a sign inflationary pressures remain strong at the start of 2025, but likely not enough to deter the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates later Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Annual inflation, harmonized to EU standards, stood at 2.9% in January, rising one decimal point from a month earlier, Spain’s statistics agency said Thursday. Still, the rise was down largely to base effects in fuel prices, which fell in January last year, as well as a sharper rise in electricity prices.

Sweden’s central bank lowered its key interest rate on Wednesday, with policymakers signaling they might be finished with their monetary policy easing, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Riksbank cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25%. The bank had previously opened the door to a rate cut during the first half of this year. It said in its statement Wednesday that given the limited risk of inflation becoming too high, coupled with weak economic activity, it decided to make the cut at its first meeting of the year.

Northvolt asked more than 100 shareholders at a meeting this month to provide $1.29 billion over the next two years to help restore the bankrupt Swedish battery maker's business, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Considered Europe's best shot at a home-grown electric vehicle battery champion to compete with Chinese rivals BYD and CATL, Northvolt filed for chapter 11 U.S. bankruptcy in November after talks for fresh funding with investors collapsed amid production and other problems.

Hungary’s central bank adopted a more hawkish monetary policy guidance after a spike in inflation and concern about the impact of geopolitical risks for the recession-hit economy, Bloomberg News reported. The National Bank of Hungary held its main interest rate at 6.5%, matching the estimate of all 25 economists in a Bloomberg survey. That left it even with Romania for the highest key rate in the European Union.

Sweden’s central bank lowered its key interest rate on Wednesday, with policymakers signaling they might be finished with their monetary policy easing, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Riksbank cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25%. The bank had previously opened the door to a rate cut during the first half of this year. It said in its statement Wednesday that given the limited risk of inflation becoming too high, coupled with weak economic activity, it decided to make the cut at its first meeting of the year.

French investigators said on Tuesday they had opened a judicial probe into money laundering, tax fraud and other charges at Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reported. The economic and financial crime section of the Paris public prosecutor's office (JUNALCO) said in a statement that the probe includes money laundering in connection with drug trafficking. The investigation is examining the period from 2019 to 2024, involving offences committed in France but also in all European Union countries, JUNALCO said.