The insolvent Austrian lingerie manufacturer Palmers Textil AG is being taken over by the Danish company Change of Scandinavia, DPA International reported. The investor's entry secures the continuation of Palmers, a spokesman for the company announced on Monday. The long-established Austrian company declared itself insolvent in February. Change of Scandinavia primarily produces and sells women's underwear under the Change Lingerie fashion brand. Creditors can now expect to receive a total of 20% of their claims in four payments within two years, according to the statement.

The eurozone’s unemployment rate inched higher in May, a sign of jitters among European firms amid economic uncertainty over tariffs and geopolitical tensions, the Wall Street Journal reported. Unemployment rose to 6.3% in the 20-nation currency area, up from 6.2% in April, the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat said Wednesday. Despite the uptick, the jobless rate is near historically tight levels. April’s level equaled the eurozone’s record-low rate, although it came after March’s level had been revised higher to 6.4%.

Italy risks losing 20 billion euros ($23.6 billion) in exports and 118,000 jobs next year if the U.S. imposes tariffs of 10% on all European products, the head of the main Italian business lobby said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. "Italy does not just export luxury products - with a demand that isn't very sensitive to prices - but mainly machinery, means of transport, and leather goods," Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini told daily Il Corriere della Sera in an interview.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.