Sales of new cars in Italy fell by 5.11% year-on-year in July, transport ministry data showed on Friday, indicating a persistently weak market in the European Union's third largest economy. Total sales in July stood at 118,493 vehicles, Reuters reported. Market leader Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot, suffered an even bigger sales slide of around 13% year-on-year, according to Reuters calculations.

The bankruptcy of Groupcard, a company that provided prepaid cards such as city passes for municipalities, has affected roughly a third of all municipalities in the Netherlands, according to an estimate by the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), NLTimes.nl reported. The bankruptcy, first reported by AD on Friday, was officially declared last month by the court in Amsterdam. Many municipalities had contracts with the company, and the financial damage appears to run into the millions.

Ballooning spending on children with special educational needs and disabilities is putting England’s already stretched local councils under even more financial strain, adding urgency to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plans to reform the system, Bloomberg News reported. Across the country, cumulative overspends on the so-called SEND program were forecast to double to £8 billion ($10.6 billion) by 2027 from about £4 billion in March, according to a report earlier this year by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Five South London companies which claimed to have turnovers topping £1.6 billion have been shut down, after an investigation revealed that their accounts had been faked, The Standard reported. The Insolvency Service and Companies House obtained a High Court order on Thursday to close down Automarket Europe Limited, Integra Group Limited, Maxell Limited, Montana & Montana Limited, and Supermarket Plus Ltd.

Millions of drivers will miss out on tens of billions in compensation after Britain’s highest court rejected claims drivers were mis-sold car loans, The Telegraph reported. The Supreme Court on Friday rejected arguments that customers should have been informed about “secret” commissions paid to car salesmen when they arranged loans to fund vehicle purchases. Judges overturned earlier rulings that had claimed payments from banks amounted to “bribes” and salesmen had a “fiduciary duty” to look out for customers.

Unemployment remained at historic lows in the eurozone at the end of the second quarter, adding to signs of economic resilience and cementing the likelihood that the European Central Bank will keep holding interest rates in place, the Wall Street Journal reported. The jobless rate stood at 6.2% in June in the 20-member currency area, unchanged from a revised May estimate and matching historically low levels, European Union statistics showed Thursday. Unemployment decreased by 62,000 people over the month.

Inflation stayed steady in France, likely keeping the European Central Bank cautious over any further cuts to interest rates ahead, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 0.9% on year this month, according to EU-harmonized figures set out Thursday by the French statistics authority. That was the same rate of annual inflation as booked in June. Energy prices fell on year after a surge in July last year, while food inflation picked up a little pace, the figures showed.

One of Britain’s biggest vertical farming businesses has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace after reporting widening losses, City AM reported. London-based Vertical Future, which has raised more than £37m in capital since it was founded in 2016, saw its losses surpass £10m in 2024 after turnover tumbled from £6.7m to just £692,000. Vertical Future had hoped to raise as much as £60m in a fresh funding round in 2023 to help grow the business, according to the Standard.

Norwegian subsea services company Argeo has filed for bankruptcy after multiple processes failed to secure the funding needed for the company to continue operations, BairdMaritime.com reported. A Norwegian court officially opened bankruptcy proceedings for Argeo and its main Norwegian subsidiaries on July 24. The decision follows a period of uncertainty for the company. After initially resolving to file for bankruptcy in early July, the board postponed the filing after receiving indications of interest from several industrial players.