U.K. borrowing costs have surged and the pound has plunged amid speculation over the Chancellor’s future, The Telegraph reported. UK gilt yields rocketed higher on bond markets as Sir Keir Starmer initially failed to repeat a guarantee that Rachel Reeves would remain in her role for the whole of Labour’s first term in power. The yield on 10-year gilts – the return the Government promises to buyers of its debt – shot up by as much as 18 basis points, rising above 4.6pc after Ms Reeves was seen crying in the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions.
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Resources Per Country
- Albania
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guernsey
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Italy
- Jersey
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macedonia
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Vatican City
Spanish Banco Santander S.A., the biggest lender in continental Europe by market capitalisation, is buying Scotland-based commercial bank TSB for £2.65 billion (€3.08bn). This is a major step to bolster the Spanish lender’s future in the UK, as it has been struggling to keep its UK arm afloat, EuroNews reported. The acquisition of TSB Bank means 5 million customers will be transferred to Santander, who will keep a total of £35bn (€40.1bn) in their deposits.
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Shares of Argo Blockchain plunged more than 60% on Monday after the Bitcoin mining company unveiled a court-supervised restructuring plan in a last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy, TheMinerMag.com reported. The London- and Nasdaq-listed miner said it has entered into an agreement with Growler Mining and will seek approval from a U.K. court to implement the proposed plan. If approved, the deal would eliminate existing shareholders and transfer majority ownership to Growler Mining, a mining firm based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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Inflation in the eurozone crept up in June, hitting the European Central Bank’s target and raising expectations that policymakers will leave the key interest rate unchanged later this month, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 2.0% higher than the same month last year, up from the 1.9% of May, statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday. The ECB cut its key interest rate last month for an eighth time since June last year. Investors anticipate policymakers to reduce rates again later in 2025, albeit to stand pat in their July meeting.
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Germany’s unemployment rate was unchanged in June, but signs of a loosening labor market remain as economic uncertainty around trade and geopolitics persists, the Wall Street Journal reported. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% for a fourth consecutive month, data from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency published Tuesday said. However, there were 632,000 vacancies in June, 69,000 fewer than the same month of 2024, the agency said. Jobless claims rose 11,000, albeit that was a slowdown from the 33,000 in May.
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The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it has completed its eighth review of Ukraine's $15.5 billion four-year support program, paving the way for a disbursement of an additional $500 million to the war-torn country, Reuters reported. That will bring total disbursements to $10.6 billion, the IMF said in a statement, following its board's approval of the review of Ukraine's Extended Fund Facility. It warned of ongoing and "exceptionally high" risks to the country's outlook. “Russia’s war continues to take a devastating social and economic toll on Ukraine.
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Russia’s government is weighing the possibility of some tax relief for the giant gas firm Gazprom, which would be paid for by potentially higher taxes on other Russian natural gas producers, a source in the Russian government told Reuters on Monday. Gazprom has been bleeding cash since it cut off most of its pipeline gas deliveries to Europe in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Britain's Lindsey oil refinery has begun insolvency proceedings, putting hundreds of jobs at risk and potentially increasing the country's reliance on fuel imports just weeks after its Grangemouth refinery stopped processing oil, Reuters reported. Lindsey is one of six remaining oil refineries in Britain, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and employs around 420 people, according to FTI, the refinery's special manager through the insolvency process.
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French heart prosthesis company Carmat has filed for insolvency and requested to be placed in receivership after failing to secure emergency funding, it said on Monday, Reuters reported. Trading in Carmat shares have been suspended at the company's request, it said, pending a decision by the the Versailles Economic Affairs Court. Carmat, which had warned earlier this month that it could run out of cash by end-June without fresh financing, said it had not managed to raise the 3.5 million euros ($4.1 million) it needed and had submitted the filing to the court.
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