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Commerzbank has said it plans to cut 3,000 jobs to help it reach ​more ambitious profit targets as part of a strategy to fend off a mooted takeover by Italian lender UniCredit. "UniCredit’s communicated plan remains vague and bears considerable execution risks, while using misleading narratives that discredit ​Commerzbank," the German lender said about UniCredit's recent move to officially launch its takeover attempt at a ​below-market price of €37bn ($43.43bn).

 

Reuters

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Global food prices rose to their highest level in more than three years in April as the Iran war disrupted agricultural supply chains and increased the cost of key farming inputs, raising concerns over renewed food inflation for consumers worldwide. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s food price index increased 1.6% month-on-month and was 2.5% higher than a year earlier, marking a third consecutive monthly increase. The rise was driven primarily by higher prices for vegetable oils, meat and cereals as the ongoing conflict around the Strait of Hormuz disrupted supplies of diesel and fertiliser critical to global agricultural production. Higher oil prices also boosted demand for biofuels, helping push the UN vegetable oils index up 5.9% to its highest level since July 2022. Meat prices rose 1.2% to a record high, while cereal prices increased 0.8% amid weather concerns and expectations of reduced wheat plantings in 2026 as farmers shift towards less fertiliser-intensive crops to manage rising input costs.

 

Bloomberg

German industrial output unexpectedly fell for a second month in March. Most economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast an increase. Industrial production dipped 0.7% from February, driven by declines in energy and machinery and equipment manufacturing, the German statistics office said. “The renewed decline confirms the general picture that industrial production has been fluctuating sideways at a low level for the past year and a half,” observed Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank. Referencing the release of figures showing factory orders jumped far more than expected in March, he added: “[The] increase in orders will not change this, as it was primarily due to war-related pull-forward effects.”

 

Bloomberg

Eurozone retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.1% in March as surging fuel prices linked to the war in Iran began to weigh on consumer spending, raising concerns over the outlook for demand across the region. The decline followed a 0.3% fall in February and missed expectations for a 0.1% increase, with the weakness driven primarily by the sharpest drop in automotive fuel sales since August 2023. While higher petrol and diesel costs hurt spending on fuel, sales of non-food and non-fuel goods still rose 0.6%, suggesting broader consumer demand remained relatively resilient in the early stages of the energy shock.

 

Wall Street Journal

Stellantis is allowing China’s Leapmotor access to a plant in Spain. The partners will build an EV together to deepen their ties as the maker of Opel cars seeks to bolster its European operations. Opel engineers have already started working with their Leapmotor counterparts in China on the development of a mid-size sport utility vehicle that will be built in Zaragoza to compete with the likes of Volkswagen’s Tiguan and Hyundai’s Tucson. Bloomberg notes the move is one of the first instances of a major Western automaker relying on Chinese technology to boost its lineup in Europe.

 

Bloomberg

Uber Eats officially commenced operations in Finland on Wednesday, starting in Helsinki with plans to expand to Espoo and Tampere later this month. Matthew Price, Uber Eats' Northern Europe director, said: "This is a big moment for us in Europe." The move follows the exit of Foodora from the Finnish market, leaving Wolt as Uber's primary competitor. Uber aims to integrate ride-hailing with food delivery, offering options for couriers to work as either employees or entrepreneurs. Price said that Uber Eats will not allow couriers to share or rent their accounts; earlier this year, Yle reported about thousands of Wolt courier accounts being leased to others.

 

YLE Uutiset

Porsche is to ‌cut more than 500 jobs. The German ​sports car ​maker is to discontinue three units - Cellforce Group, Porsche eBike Performance ​and Cetitec - and refocus on its core business. "Porsche must refocus . . . This is the indispensable ​foundation for a successful ​strategic realignment," said CEO Michael Leiters.

 

Reuters

Companies in the US and Europe are increasingly relying on temporary workers amid economic instability and artificial intelligence-driven disruptions, with staffing firms reporting that clients are turning to contractors as employers evaluate how AI will affect their labour needs. “When clients will have more confidence and talent to start changing jobs or organising work with more permanent jobs, we don’t know,” observed Amsterdam-based Randstad’s Chief Financial Officer Jorge Vazquez on the company’s latest earnings call.

 

Bloomberg

European Council president António Costa says there is “potential” for the EU to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the bloc has the backing of Ukraine to do so.

 

Financial Times

The White House has published a new national counterterrorism strategy, outlining its intention to neutralise hemispheric threats posed by cartels and combat "violent, secular political ​groups whose ideology is anti-American." The document states that European nations have been turned into "permissive operating environments" for nefarious actors who have exploited open borders. It asserts that Europe's decline has been "wilful" but that it can be strong again if it reverses its current policies, "rediscovers traditional principles of freedom of speech" and significantly increases its counter-terrorism efforts.

 

Reuters

Whitehouse.gov

The Financial Times reports on how the UK's Serious Fraud Office is seeking to rebuild its credibility. Lawyers argue that the City of London's reputation is among the issues at stake.

 

Financial Times

Victims of last year's devastating floods in Indonesia's Sumatra have filed a lawsuit urging the government to declare national disaster status for three affected provinces. The suit, submitted to the state administrative court, includes seven residents from Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, who are demanding immediate action from the government. Diki Rafiqi, one of the petitioners, said the existing reconstruction process has ​now stalled because ⁠of the limited budget allocated by the provincial governments. The petitioners are also seeking a moratorium on new forest use permits until the land is rehabilitated, underscoring the need for reconstruction funding and support for the 1,200 lives lost and 300,000 homes damaged during the disaster.

 

U.S. News