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New Austria government targets lower energy costs and industrial revamp

18 Mar 2025

By Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich VIENNA (Reuters) -Austria’s new three-party ruling coalition said on Tuesday it planned to overhaul the country’s energy market to bring down costs for consumers and to develop an industrial strategy to lift weak economic growth. In its inaugural working retreat, ministers from the centrist coalition that formed earlier this month met to …

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BBVA confident on antitrust approval for Sabadell bid, optimistic on Turkey

18 Mar 2025

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s BBVA remained confident that its hostile takeover bid for smaller rival Sabadell will be approved by competition authorities within the next few weeks, its chief executive officer Onur Genc said on Wednesday. In November, the antitrust watchdog said that BBVA’s all-share offer for Sabadell, valued in April at more than 12 …

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Russian-Kazakh JV suspends LPG supplies from Orenburg plant due to EU sanctions, sources say

18 Mar 2025

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kazrosgaz, a joint venture between Russia’s Gazprom and Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGas, has suspended liquefied petroleum gas production and supplies from Russia’s Orenburg gas processing plant this year due to EU sanctions on imports of Russian propane and propane-butane, three industry sources said on Tuesday. Kazrosgaz supplies Kazakhstan’s raw natural gas from the Karachaganak …

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Swiss insurers Baloise, Helvetia explore merger, Bloomberg News reports

18 Mar 2025

(Reuters) -Switzerand’s Baloise and Helvetia Holding AG have been exploring a potential merger to create one of the country’s largest insurers, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The two companies have held several on-and-off discussions in recent months but there is no certainty these will lead to a deal, the …

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French economy headed for meagre first half growth, INSEE says

18 Mar 2025

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s economy will barely grow in the first half of the year as consumer spending struggles to offset the impact of weak business activity and government belt tightening, the national statistics agency INSEE said on Tuesday. After contracting 0.1% in the fourth quarter over the previous three months, the euro zone’s second-biggest …

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Apple loses German antitrust fight, faces greater scrutiny

18 Mar 2025

By Ursula Knapp KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) -Apple lost its challenge at Germany’s top civil court on Tuesday against its classification as a significant market power, a label which gives antitrust regulators more scope and flexibility to scrutinise its business practices. Judges at the Federal Court of Justice backed the German cartel office’s 2023 designation of …

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UK lender Close Brothers’ shares plunge on motor finance and margin woes

18 Mar 2025

By Pushkala Aripaka (Reuters) -British lender Close Brothers’ shares plunged 21% on Tuesday after the company flagged pressures on margins and raised its estimate for costs linked to the fallout from a court ruling into motor finance commissions. The company’s shares, which have tumbled by around 50% since September, fell to their lowest level since …

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UK’s Thames Water seeks new equity by end of June, defers bills appeal

18 Mar 2025

By Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s biggest water supplier, Thames Water, said it was aiming to secure new equity in the coming months and was putting an attempt to raise customer bills by 53% on hold while it works to secure the recapitalisation. Thames Water, which has for the past year been battling to stave …

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Germany’s AAA rating could face pressure in longer run without growth boost, Fitch says

18 Mar 2025

LONDON (Reuters) – Germany’s top AAA credit rating could face pressure in the longer run if a vast spending effort is not offset by consolidation measures, or doesn’t lead to a lasting improvement in growth, Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday. The German parliament on Tuesday approved a massive surge in borrowing to boost infrastructure investments …

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