Irish financier Paul Coulson has agreed to cede entire control of Ardagh Group, the glass bottles and drink cans giant he built up over the past 25 years, to a group of its bondholders in exchange for a share of a $300 million (€257 million) pay-off, the Irish Times reported. The company at the top of Ardagh Group corporate tree has an estimated $12.5 billion of debt, which became unsustainable after its earnings were hit since the Covid-19 pandemic by inflation, soaring interest rates, and soft consumer demand on both sides of the Atlantic.

The eurozone economy slowed in the three months through June, but showed a resilience that suggests it could recover in the months ahead despite the higher tariffs its exports now face in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product in the 20-nation currency union grew 0.1% over the quarter, European Union figures showed Wednesday. That marks a slowdown from the 0.6% growth the eurozone booked in the first quarter of the year. On an annualized basis, the eurozone economy expanded by 0.4%, down from 2.3% in the first quarter.

California-based battery startup Lyten has raised $200 million from existing investors to acquire assets from the bankrupt Swedish manufacturer Northvolt AB, TechinAsia.com reported. This funding will facilitate the restart of production at Northvolt’s factory in Gdansk, Poland. The Gdansk facility, idled earlier this year, will initially resume operations using nickel-based battery cells previously developed by Northvolt. Lyten plans to begin customer deliveries from the plant by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Intrum AB, a Swedish debt collector, has announced the immediate departure of CEO Andres Rubio following the company's recapitalization and exit from U.S. chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, AIInvest.com reported. Rubio will be succeeded by CFO Johan Akerblom, who previously worked at Citadele Banka AS and SEB AB in Germany and the Baltics. Akerblom will now lead Intrum as it focuses on its commercial development strategy. Intrum AB provides payment solutions and credit and collection services in Europe and internationally, operating through the Servicing and Investing segments.

Growing numbers of Yorkshire business are experiencing financial strain as economic pressures mount, according to the UK’s biggest insolvency practitioner, YahooNews.com reported. Almost 46,000 firms across Yorkshire were experiencing ‘significant’ financial distress in the second quarter of this year, up 14.5 per cent on the previous quarter and 9.5 per cent on the same time last year, according to the latest Red Flag Alert research from Begbies Traynor.

The Leipzig-based tram manufacturer Heiterblick is currently grappling with significant challenges as it faces insolvency, The Munich Eye reported. Once aspiring to become the leading name in the streetcar manufacturing sector, the company now finds itself in a precarious situation. Earlier this year, the managing director of Heiterblick expressed optimism about the company's future, even seeking recognition as the Saxon Entrepreneur of the Year.

The Spanish economy gained a little pace in the three months through June, a sign of resilience for a eurozone facing a slowdown as higher U.S. tariffs bite, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product grew 0.7% in the second quarter, accelerating a little from 0.6% in the first months of the year, the country’s statistics office said Tuesday. Spain was the wealthy world’s fastest-growing economy last year, and the International Monetary Fund expects it to keep leading the pack over 2025.

The European Central Bank is not in any hurry to lower borrowing costs again and it would take a major unexpected economic shift to make a case for action in September, Slovak policymaker Peter Kazimir said on Monday, Reuters reported. The ECB kept rates unchanged last week as widely expected and offered a moderately upbeat assessment on the bloc's economy, prompting investors to scale back their bets on further policy easing. "When it comes to incoming data, I don't expect anything significant to happen that would force my hand to act as soon as September," Kazimir said in a blog post.

Romania said on Monday a 15% U.S. import tariff on European goods would mean a small hit to central Europe's second-largest economy, while export-reliant Slovakia hailed the U.S. trade deal as a "good result," Reuters reported. Sunday's framework trade agreement between the United States and the European Union staved off the threat of a trade war, which has loomed over the region's economies, among the EU's most dependent on trade.

Ireland’s economy contracted in the three months through June following a first-quarter surge, and faces an uncertain future as U.S. tariffs rise, while the government plans to ramp up its investment spending, the Wall Street Journal reported. A surge in exports of pharmaceuticals to the U.S. led Ireland to far outstrip the growth rates of other rich economies in the three months through March, with gross domestic product expanding by 7.4%, the equivalent of an annualized rate of 33%. By contrast, the U.S. economy contracted over the same period.