German chipmaker Infineon has settled a more than decade-long legal dispute over insolvent former unit Qimonda, agreeing to pay a higher than initially planned 753.5 million euros ($837 million), both companies said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The settlement with Qimonda insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe will not affect Infineon's operating profitability, a company spokesperson said, adding that it had already taken provisions amounting to 221 million euros over the case.

The German government on Friday announced plans to provide about 3.3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in funding for projects to make industry more climate-friendly, including by storing carbon dioxide underground at offshore sites, the Associated Press reported. Germany, which has Europe's biggest economy and is home to many energy-intensive industries, aims to cut its emissions to “net zero” by 2045. The new program is aimed largely at medium-sized companies. The Economy Ministry plans to launch the program, which also covers projects to shift to more climate-friendly production, next month.

The first ever Green leader of Bristol has warned that the city council is at risk of going bankrupt unless urgent action is taken, BBC.com reported. Councillor Tony Dyer has revealed that the authority presently faces an overspend of £22m. A savings programme is being developed, with warnings that some charges will also rise. But there is already criticism from campaigners, with accusations that the Greens have rowed back on earlier pledges. Money was already tight, but extra costs have come to light, and planned savings have fallen short.

The U.K.’s economy kept up pace in August, helped by a robust labor market as both the services and manufacturing sectors expanded further, a boost for the newly elected Labour government that has put economic growth at the heart of its political agenda, the Wall Street Journal reported. The S&P Global Flash U.K. PMI Composite Output Index—a measure of private-sector activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors—rose to 53.4 from 52.8 in July, marking the fastest rise since April and above a forecast of 52.6 by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

Wages in the eurozone rose at a significantly slower pace during the three months through June, paving the way for further cuts in borrowing costs by the European Central Bank, the Wall Street Journal reported. The ECB on Thursday said wages set through negotiations between employers and labor unions or similar bodies were 3.55% higher than a year earlier, a slowdown from the 4.74% increase recorded in the first three months of the year. That was a slower increase than economists expected to see.

The number of companies that became insolvent in July was 16% higher than during the same period last year, according to official data, the Independent reported. In England and Wales, 2,191 businesses went bust, according to the Insolvency Service, compared with 1,890 in July 2023. The figures included 320 compulsory liquidations – when a company is forced to shut down, usually because it has debts it cannot pay – which is the highest monthly number since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

German authorities have seized almost 25 million euros ($28 million) in cash in a nationwide operation targeting cryptocurrency ATMs, the country's financial regulator BaFin said in a statement on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Authorities seized 13 machines that had been operating without the necessary permits, posing a risk of money-laundering, according to the regulator. The ATMs had been used to trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and were located in 35 different locations, the statement said.

Twenty-five years after a group of friends decided to get into the whisky business during an apres-ski hot tub party, Sweden’s Mackmyra Distillery has filed for bankruptcy, WhiskyCast.com reported. The petition was filed yesterday in Gävle District Court, with a trustee to be appointed soon. In a statement on the Mackmyra web site, chairman Petter Ski said that the decision to shut down the distillery was not an easy one. “It is with great sadness that we must state that it is unfortunately not possible to continue the company’s operations," Ski said.

Creches face going "insolvent" if the Irish government fails to provide sufficient funding to providers, it has been warned, the Irish Examiner reported. Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP) chairwoman Elaine Dunne said that many more creches and playschools would depart from the core funding model if changes are not made. Currently, childcare providers who accept core funding cannot increase existing prices beyond a strict limit of €33.30 per week. They have argued they cannot continue to operate without additional funds.

Sweden’s Riksbank lowered borrowing costs for a second time since May and sketched out more easing than previously expected as inflation has fallen below its target and the largest Nordic economy is sputtering, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank, which cut its benchmark rate to 3.5% from 3.75% in a decision announced on Tuesday, said it could consider as many as three more reductions this year. Its previous guidance had implied a maximum of two cuts after today.