Europe Economy

Christine Lagarde says foreign workers drove half of euro-area growth, even as EU and UK roll out tougher immigration rules

European companies are cutting costs and scaling back investment plans in China as its economy slows and fierce competition drives down prices, according to an annual survey released Wednesday. Their challenges reflect broader ones faced by a Chinese economy hobbled by a prolonged real estate crisis that has hurt consumer spending. Beijing also faces growing pushback from Europe and the United States over surging exports. "The picture has deteriorated across many key metrics," the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in the introduction to its Business Confidence Survey 2025. The same forces that are driving up Chinese exports are depressing the business outlook in the Chinese market. Chinese companies, often enticed by government subsidies, have invested so much in targeted industries such as electric vehicles that factory capacity far outpaces demand. The overcapacity has resulted in fierce price wars that cut into profits and a parallel push by companies into oversea

ECB has been working on creating a digital euro since 2020, after Facebook announced a year earlier it wanted to launch its own digital currency called Libra

Europe's economy stagnated at the end of last year as former growth engine Germany floundered to the end of a second straight year of shrinking output, officials said Thursday. Gross domestic product was flat with a zero increase in the final quarter of 2024 in the 20-nation eurozone, EU statistics agency Eurostat said. The economy slowed from 0.4% growth in the third quarter as businesses were unsettled by possible trade disruptions under the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and as consumers remained cautious with spending after being stung by inflation. Germany, labouring under multiple headwinds including the loss of cheap energy from Russia, choking bureaucracy and political paralysis in Berlin, shrank by 0.2% in the fourth quarter. The German economy, Europe's largest, also shrank for all of 2024 by 0.2%, the second straight year of declining output. And the outlook for this year isn't much better. The government slashed its 2025 forecast on Wednesday to 0.3%

The commercial supply of these products is expected to begin in 2027 and continue until 2032

During the meeting, Goyal also emphasised the 'need to address long-pending issues as a confidence-building measure'

The ECB has been easing policy as inflation worries largely evaporate and the debate shifts to whether it is cutting rates fast enough to support an economy that is lagging global peers

Even before the French and German governments collapsed, Europe's economy had enough difficulties. Tepid growth and lagging competitiveness versus the US and China. An auto industry that's struggling. Where to find billions for defense against Russia? And now Donald Trump threatening tariffs. Solutions will be harder to find while the two countries that make up almost half of the eurozone economy remain stuck in political paralysis well into 2025. Where once there was the so-called French-German axis to push Europe ahead, now there's a vacuum. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned Thursday after losing a vote of confidence, and while President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a successor, the new head of government will lack a majority. Elections are not constitutionally permitted until at least June. Germany's coalition led by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz with the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats fractured in November, triggering an early election on Feb. 23.

Companies across Europe are being forced to freeze hiring or cut jobs on difficult economy and persistent weak demand for many products

Speaking on Wednesday at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington, she described how policymakers have seen consumer-price growth weaken from a peak above 10%

Speaking on Wednesday at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington, she described how policymakers have seen consumer-price growth weaken from a peak above 10%

Bank share prices have broadly delivered a double-digit rise this year, driven by stock buyback programmes

The euro loitered around two month lows and last fetched $1.0887 in early trading ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday, where the central bank is largely expected to cut

Meantime, inflation in Tokyo - a leading indicator of the national data due in September - picked up speed in August, supporting the case for the Bank of Japan to continue raising rates

Roznov was best known for its rum-drizzled sweet pies and open-air museum showing off historical wooden houses, then US chipmaker ON Semiconductor picked it for a new $2 bn manufacturing hub in June

Sterling rose modestly against the US dollar after the data

Cities across the globe are reaping economic benefits as consumers splurge on experiences and live entertainment

Under current EU regulations, packages purchased online from a non-EU country are not subject to customs duties if their value is under 150 euros

India's interest in trade and economic partnership with EFTA countries stems from the expertise of affluent member-nations in precision technology, and India's appetite for foreign direct investment

The other key emerging markets, the survey said, are southeast Asia, where 60 per cent of the respondents were willing to put in 50 per cent more investment in the next three years