Headlines

Ireland’s factory output fell sharply in June as exports to the U.S. halved, helping to push the economy into contraction after a first-quarter boom, the Wall Street Journal reported. The country’s Central Statistics Office on Friday said manufacturing output was 12.0% lower than in May, having risen sharply in that earlier month. Over the three months through June, output was 2.1% lower than in the first quarter. Ireland’s manufacturing output surged in the first three months of the year as exports of pharmaceuticals to the U.S. jumped. That jump was driven by U.S.

Brazil's government believes the economy is starting to feel the effects of high interest rates and will closely monitor data to see if those impacts are "wider than initially expected," Economic Policy Secretary Guilherme Mello said on Friday, Reuters reported. Brazil's central bank last week held its benchmark rate at 15%, the highest in almost two decades, pausing an aggressive tightening cycle after seven consecutive hikes aimed at fighting sticky inflation, which should cool down economic activity.

U.S. battery startup Lyten has agreed to buy most of bankrupt Swedish battery maker Northvolt, it said on Thursday, potentially offering a way back for the European company that was once seen as the region's answer to rivals in Asia, Reuters reported. Lyten, a Silicon Valley battery startup developing lithium-sulphur cells as a cleaner alternative to lithium-ion, is backed by Jeep-owner Stellantis and U.S. delivery services provider FedEx.

As its American parent files for bankruptcy, there are concerns that the UK arm of budget jewellery and accessories retailer Claire’s may struggle to find a buyer, raising the prospect of further job losses in a British retail sector already under pressure, FashionNetwork.com reported. A report by Sky News said the news organisation “has learnt that advisers to Claire's Inc… are not expected to land a solvent bid for its UK chain”. The British operation trades from around 300 British stores and the Europe-wide workforce (including the UK) numbers around 5,000.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday barred the interim resolution professional (IRP) of bankrupt Gensol Engineering Ltd from leasing out 152 electric vehicles (EVs), following a plea by SMAS Auto Leasing India Pvt. Ltd, which had originally leased the vehicles to Gensol before it entered insolvency, LiveMint.com reported. The order came after the IRP issued a public notice inviting bids to lease pre-owned EVs at a fixed monthly rental, prompting SMAS to move the appellate tribunal.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Thursday it would roll out stricter rules for electronic payment firms from May 2026 to better safeguard customers' money, Reuters reported. The regulator, which first laid out proposed reforms for payment firms in September, said companies would be required to keep customer money separate from their own funds, so that it could be returned if the firm fails. The payments sector has come under greater scrutiny as more consumers have become exposed to the risk of poor safeguarding.

U.S. trading partners are lobbying the White House for exemptions to sweeping new tariffs that went into force on Thursday, as countries seek ways to muffle the impact on their economies of President Trump’s push to reorder global trade, the Wall Street Journal reported. The diplomatic effort shows months of trade talks are far from over despite the run of agreements trumpeted by the White House in the past month.

Southeast Asian officials spent the past few days praising President Trump’s tariffs as a win, saying that they could now compete fairly with their neighbors and that their businesses could plan for the future, the New York Times reported. But though tariffs for Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam are set at around 20 percent, those countries still face a cloud of uncertainty as negotiations grind on. The biggest concern: details surrounding the 40 percent tariff on so-called transshipments of products from China, and especially what percentage of Chinese-made components would set it off.

Brazil's seafood industry is sounding the alarm to pressure the federal government for immediate relief as it grapples with mounting fears of job losses and bankruptcies as a result of the 50% tariffs the U.S. imposed on most Brazilian exports on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The new levies made the future highly uncertain for Brazilian fishing companies, which sell close to $400 million worth of seafood to the U.S. a year, or about 70% of the sector's annual exports.

Despite Washington and Beijing locking horns many times this year, China’s economy has remained mostly unshaken, EuroNews.com reported. According to data released on Thursday, the nation's exports surged 7.2% in July from a year earlier, while its imports grew at the fastest pace in a year. This came as businesses rushed to take advantage of a lull in President Donald Trump’s trade war with Beijing, after both sides agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs until 12 August. The US tariff on Chinese goods had previously reached 145%.