The head of the soon-to-be axed Payment Systems Regulator conceded that his organization was a “reasonably easy target” as the UK government hunts for ways to slash red tape, Bloomberg News reported. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday the UK will fold the PSR into the Financial Conduct Authority. David Geale, the PSR’s interim managing director, said he had become aware the agency could be on the chopping block around late January, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves made it clear the Treasury was pursuing a deregulation agenda in her push for growth.

Russia's central bank has proposed regulating certain cryptocurrency investments for wealthy individuals, it said on Wednesday, outlining plans for "specially qualified" investors to trade crypto assets, Reuters reported. The bank has gradually softened its strong opposition to cryptocurrencies, backing a law last year that allowed businesses to use cryptocurrencies in international trade, part of efforts to skirt Western sanctions imposed against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Bankruptcies in France's tech start-up sector are increasing, according to a survey published on Tuesday whose findings could undermine President Emmanuel Macron's image of Paris as a leading European tech hub and key driver of the French economy, Reuters reported. During his first term in office, Macron touted Station F in Paris as an example of France's burgeoning tech start-up industry, and France's global AI summit in February attracted 110 billion euros of investment pledges.

Northvolt, the Swedish maker of battery cells for electric vehicles, may be close to filing for bankruptcy in Sweden, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) reported on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Northvolt sought U.S. chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November last year as its cash pile dwindled, trying to secure funds that would allow it to fix persistent problems in scaling up output at its flagship plant in northern Sweden.

The UK financial watchdog has said it is gearing up to launch an industry-wide redress scheme for customers who were mis-sold car finance as it prepares for next month’s landmark Supreme Court case on the sector, the Irish Times reported. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday that any redress scheme would require banks to contact customers who have lost out due to “widespread failings” and offer them appropriate compensation, under rules overseen by the watchdog.

Sales in U.K. stores grew modestly in February despite the Valentine’s day sales boost as budget-squeezed consumers stay away from big-ticket expenses, the latest report from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed, the Wall Street Journal reported. U.K. total retail sales for the four weeks to March 1 rose 1.1% on year. This was below the three-month average growth of 2.4% and 12-month average growth of 0.8%, the BRC said on Tuesday. The increase was driven by the food segment, with sales up by 2.3%, while nonfood sales were flat on year.

Industrial production in Germany showed tentative signs of improvement at the start of the year, though that could be threatened by potential U.S. trade tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Output increased 2.0% on month in January, German statistics agency Destatis said Monday, compared with a 1.5% decline in the final month of 2024. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected a 1.5% increase in January. There are signs the industrial recession of recent years is fading.

London is at risk of being swamped by burst pipes and sewage leaks if Thames Water is forced into an emergency nationalisation later this month, The Telegraph reported. Insiders have expressed growing concerns that maintenance and repair works could grind to a halt if a multibillion-pound private sector-led bailout is rejected by the Court of Appeal in the coming days. A reversal of a £3bn rescue deal, which was sanctioned by the High Court last month, would trigger an immediate cash crisis at Thames and potentially force ministers to step in.

Swedish truckmaker Scania, a shareholder and customer of struggling battery maker Northvolt, told Reuters on Monday it had secured an additional supplier of battery cells, Reuters reported. Scania in January stepped in to help Northvolt with the day-to-day running of its flagship plant in northern Sweden in an effort to boost quality and output at the electric vehicle battery maker.