EU tariffs on Russian fertiliser imports that aim to cut funding for Moscow's war in Ukraine have so far hit European farmers, raising costs and risking higher consumer prices while Russian companies say they can divert exports to other markets, Reuters reported. "We're shooting ourselves in the foot," farmer Cedric Benoist, deputy secretary general of French wheat farmers union AGPB and head of the cereals committee of EU farmer association Copa Cogeca, told Reuters, saying farmers are now faced with paying higher global prices.

The U.K.'s third-largest steelworks has been placed under government control, creating an uncertain future for nearly 1,500 workers in Rotherham and Sheffield, BBC.com reported. Insolvency courts granted a compulsory winding up order sought by creditors owed hundreds of millions of pounds by Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) – part of the Liberty Steel metals empire of controversial tycoon Sanjeev Gupta.

The largest creditor to struggling water company Thames Water has said it is confident that it will not lose money, joking that the UK was comparable to Puerto Rico, which paid lenders to its water company despite a crippling debt crisis, The Guardian reported. Dominic Frederico, the chief executive of U.S. insurer Assured Guaranty, suggested that the U.K. government would not impose losses on creditors.

Three U.K. debt-collection agencies have been shut down after spending thousands of pounds of their clients' money at bookmakers, hotels and football clubs, BBC.com reported. Sunderland-based EDC Group NE Ltd, UK EDC Ltd and UK TCF Limited charged clients to collect debts on their behalf but failed to pass on almost £55,000 of their clients' money. The companies, which were all owned by the same director, have been dissolved by the High Court following an investigation by the Insolvency Service (IS).

Holly Willoughby’s media company is set to return to a specialist insolvency court in November following the result of a tribunal appeal, The Independent reported. Roxy Media, the media production and management firm run by the TV presenter and her husband Dan Baldwin, is facing winding-up proceedings from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC). A hearing at the Insolvency and Companies Court in April heard that the firm owed £377,000 in tax, which had been reduced from an unknown amount.

Polish manufacturer 7Anna, owner of the cycling brands Rondo, NS Bikes and Creme Cycles, has filed for bankruptcy. A Polish industry leader in recent years, the 24-year-old company had become known for its diverse range of bikes, from Rondo's gravel bikes to Creme's urban riders, Bike Europe reported. The news was first reported by local media Polityka, though apparently leaked court documents had already revealed the Chapter 11 filing. "The series of blows that hit us were too hard. Sometimes you have to fall to rise stronger," the CEO Tomasz Cybula told Polityka.

The United States and the European Union on Thursday published much-anticipated details of the trade agreement they struck verbally last month, which will see Washington maintain high tariffs on vehicles imported from the 27-nation bloc until it takes steps to lower its levies on many American industrial and agricultural products, the New York Times reported.

Mediobanca shareholders rejected a roughly €7bn proposal to acquire wealth manager Banca Generali in a pivotal vote on Thursday, Reuters reported. The Milanese bank said that 35% of investors accepted the proposal, just shy of the 50% plus one vote needed to pass. 32% of investors abstained, while 10% rejected the proposal. The outcome could threaten Mediobanca’s independence as the bank seeks to fend off a takeover by Italian competitor Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).