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Austria’s Supreme Court has said that Meta’s personalised advertising model breaches the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in a ruling which forces the company to overhaul how it handles user data across the bloc. Under the ruling, Meta must give users full access to all personal data it holds within 14 days of a request. The court found that Meta collected user data from third-party apps and websites and processed sensitive information without "specific, informed, unambiguous and freely given" consent for personalised advertising. "[The ruling] is enforceable throughout the EU by the plaintiff, meaning that, depending on the country of enforcement, non-compliance could result in daily fines or even a prison sentence for the relevant decision-makers at Meta," privacy advocacy group noyb told Reuters.

 

Reuters

The European Central Bank (ECB) says shifting credit risks off the balance sheet through so-called synthetic significant risk transfers (SRTs) could expose lenders to refinancing risks during market stress. The ECB wants banks to carry out more deals known as cash SRTs that get rid of the actual loans and not just the attached credit risk. The warning from the ECB underscores growing concern among global regulators about the sharp growth in SRT issuance.

 

ECB Banking Supervision

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has said Europe's largest carmaker will continue to cut costs as the company seeks to remain competitive in the face of sector-wide challenges. "The task now is to continue to consistently reduce our costs in order to remain competitive in the long term," Blume said. Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz said the German automaker must generate more revenue with fewer resources. "This requires even stricter cost management and investment discipline . . . We need more Group synergies, less complexity and a strengthening of our market position in the USA and other regions outside Europe," Antlitz said..

 

Reuters

Retail sales in the UK were weaker than expected in November, reflecting a subdued mood among consumers as growth sputtered and joblessness rose. Sales volumes dropped by 0.1% in November from October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), missing the 0.4% increase expected among analysts polled by Reuters. Sales rose at department, household goods, and clothing and footwear stores, but dropped at food outlets. “This year November’s Black Friday discounts did not boost sales as much as in some recent years, meaning that once we adjust for usual seasonality, our headline figures fell a little on the month," commented ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

Sentiment among German consumers is set to fall significantly heading into 2026, with households' propensity to save money, driven by renewed uncertainty, reached its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. The consumer sentiment index, published by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, fell to 26.9 points in January, from a slightly downwardly revised -23.4 points. That is below the forecast from analysts polled by Reuters for a reading of -23.2 points.

 

Reuters

Swiss watch exports fell 7.3% year-on-year in November, marking a fourth consecutive monthly decline, with shipments to the US, its biggest market, plunging 52% due to steep import tariffs. Although a new US trade deal will retroactively cut tariffs from 39% to 15%, analysts say the sector enters 2026 facing uncertainty in the US and weakening demand in China and Europe.

 

Bloomberg

The European Union has approved compensation for over 5,000 individuals who lost their jobs following the bankruptcy of Northvolt, the Swedish electric battery manufacturer, in March. In total, laid-off workers are to receive an estimated €14.2m in support from both the EU and Swedish authorities

 

The Local

Friedrich Merz's government is launching the Germany Fund to attract up to €130bn in private investment for high-risk projects. The initiative will start with €30bn in public funds and loan guarantees.

 

Financial Times

The EU's Court of Justice ruled that Poland's Constitutional Tribunal lacks independence due to politicised appointments by the former conservative government. The court stated that the tribunal infringed on the principle of effective judicial protection and undermined EU law. The ruling could prompt reforms to restore the tribunal's independence, a requirement for EU membership.

 

The Independent UK

Less than a third of frozen criminal assets are being recovered by UK law enforcement agencies, according to a report by Spotlight on Corruption. The charity says an estimated £700bn of dirty money passed through the UK in the past seven years, of which only £6.8bn was frozen and just £1.9bn was permanently recovered. It also says Unexplained Wealth Orders have been a "major disappointment." Only eight known investigations have taken place since, "far short of the level anticipated by the government."

 

The Times

Supraj Rajagopalan has stepped down as co-managing partner of Cinven as the UK’s competition watchdog mulls legal action after the buyout group was fined £52m for ratcheting up prices on drugs sold to the National Health Service. The Competition and Markets Authority is considering applying to the High Court to disqualify Rajagopalan as a director over the alleged price-gouging. Alex Leslie, the firm’s chief operating and financial officer - who also faces potential disqualification proceedings - is also resigning.

 

Financial Times

PE Hub

PE News

AXA Partners UK, a subsidiary of AXA, faces restrictions from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) due to poor customer treatment. The FCA has limited the insurer to 6.5m policies and requires monthly updates on policy numbers. The FCA's actions follow a super-complaint in September which outlined issues in the home and travel insurance markets, with consumer group Which? warning that insurers were being allowed to break the law through a failure to pay out claims and poor treatment of customers. It called on the FCA to "reset" the home and travel insurance markets to better serve the needs of consumers. FCA data shows that 29% of home and 16% of annual worldwide travel policy claims were rejected last year, compared with less than 1% of motor insurance claims. 

 

The Times

The EU has implemented measures to enhance retail investment in stocks and bonds, aiming to boost the economy and encourage individuals to move funds out of bank deposits.

 

Financial Times

WH Smith plans to recover bonuses from former senior executives after an investigation found accounting errors in its results spanning several years. The board is applying “malus and clawback” to recover overpaid bonuses from former executive directors after profits were restated for the financial year to the end of August 2024. Interim chief executive Andrew Harrison, who took over last month from Carl Cowling, said the company is “acutely aware that we have much to do to rebuild confidence.” WH Smith is also under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority over its accounting. His comment came alongside the firm's annual results; group sales rose 5% to £1.6bn, with growth in all its markets helping it to a pre-tax profit of £108m.

 

Bloomberg

Financlal Times

City AM

The Independent

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) experienced a cyber-attack in October, according to trade minister Chris Bryant. He said that there is a low risk to "any individual" from the breach, which has been linked to a Chinese hacker group named Storm 1849 by The Sun newspaper. However, Bryant said that it is "not clear" who is responsible and cautioned against speculation. He noted that the investigation is ongoing and that the FCDO had addressed the technical issue swiftly.

 

The Daily Telegraph

The Guardian