The Irish High Court has appointed a provisional liquidator to a Co Galway automation equipment firm that ran into financial difficulty following a customer’s cancellation of a major contract, the Irish Times reported. Mr Justice Oisín Quinn on Friday appointed liquidator David van Dessel to Megadale Ltd, with offices at Briarhill Business Park, Ballybrit, following a petition moved on behalf of the company itself.

The Bank of Ireland’s latest credit and debit card data shows spending rose 5.7 per cent in December. Importantly that was higher than the 3.2 per cent inflation rate, indicating an overall increase in spending for Christmas, the Irish Times reported. Spending on electrical goods was up by 6.3 per cent compared to a year ago, while services spend spiked 5.7 per cent. About 2.5 per cent more was forked out in restaurants and pubs while retail saw its share increase 1 per cent. One notable decline was the continued fall-off in cash usage. ATM withdrawals fell once more.

A $1.8bn (£1.3bn) takeover of Soho House by the entrepreneur planning to transform the BT Tower has been revived following a funding scramble, The Telegraph reported. Soho House, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has secured a new $200m funding commitment that will allow it to close a take-private deal with US hotel giant MCR Hotels. Under the revised terms, Morse Ventures, an entity owned by MCR boss Tyler Morse, will commit $50m, while MCR will commit a further $50m.

Germany’s state of Saxony-Anhalt will temporarily finance Domo Chemicals GmbH’s insolvent plastics production site in Leuna to prevent a potentially damaging shutdown, Bloomberg News reported. The plant, which makes plastics used in the automotive and construction sectors, will keep running at around 40% of capacity until the end of March, Christof Günther, managing director of chemical park operator InfraLeuna GmbH said Thursday, after helping to negotiate the financial lifeline with insolvency administrator Flöther & Wissing and the eastern German state.

Lenders have reported the biggest jump in credit card defaults in nearly two years, in a sign that families are struggling to weather financial pressures, The Telegraph reported. Banks experienced the largest increase in people falling behind on their credit card debts in the three final months of last year since the start of 2024, new figures show. The data from the Bank of England also showed that demand for mortgages registered the sharpest fall in two years.

Germany's troubled economy returned to modest growth last year after two years of falling output, official figures showed, as hopes rise that government spending on bridges, rail lines and defence may help end years of stagnation, EuroNews reported. The expansion in gross domestic product of 0.2% for 2025 was fueled by stronger consumer and government spending while exports sagged under the weight of more restrictive US trade policy under President Donald Trump, the German Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday. That follows shrinkage of 0.5% in 2024 and 0.9% in 2023.

A Scottish council is suing a major City investment group over claims a £40m “gamble” on a fleet of onshore wind farms backfired, The Telegraph reported. Aberdeen City Council has filed a London High Court claim against Federated Hermes, a fund manager once tied to the BT pension scheme, over allegations the group engaged in an “existential gamble” by investing its pension money in the green energy project.

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking Dave Ramsden said on Wednesday that the United Kingdom must adapt its financial safeguards to account for evolving risks, including the rise of stablecoins, BreakingtheNews.net reported.