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Pablo Hernandez de Cos, general manager of the the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has told Japan's Nikkei newspaper that countries must keep fiscal spending targeted and temporary, cautioning that broad-based and persistent stimulus ‌could increase inflationary risks and compel central banks to raise interest rates. "In recent weeks, market ​sentiment has been buoyant, driven by optimism regarding artificial intelligence (AI) developments and the expectations of ​a rapid resolution to the conflict in the Middle East. If these expectations prove wrong, I can easily see the potential for abrupt market corrections," de Cos said. 

 

Reuters

UK Government borrowing costs have increased significantly, with the effective interest rate on 10-year borrowing reaching 5.13%, close to levels seen during the 2008 financial crisis. The rise is attributed to concerns over the impact of the Middle East conflict on inflation and uncertainty around the Prime Minister's position. Analysts warn that a leadership change at the top of government could lead to looser fiscal policies, further unsettling investors.

 

BBC News

EU member states have agreed on Critical Medicines Act that aims to incentivise domestic production that aims to end persistent scarcity of key drugs and reduce reliance on imports. “Patients should not have to worry about whether critical medicines such as antibiotics will be available at their pharmacy or hospital,” said Neophytos Charalambides, health minister of Cyprus. “With today’s agreement, we are taking practical action to reduce our vulnerabilities, diversify supply chains and strengthen Europe’s capacity to produce critical medicines and their ingredients closer to home.”

 

EU Consilium

European Medicines Agency

Euractiv

Financial Times

An upcoming EU law aimed at boosting the continent's cloud industry is designed to prevent Europe from becoming a technology "colony", according to Thibaut Kleiner, a senior European Commission official. The Cloud and AI Development Act is part of a tech sovereignty package expected on May 27, though delays are likely due to lobbying against imposing distance from US technology. Kleiner emphasised the urgency for European companies to increase local cloud capacity to ensure their survival, suggesting that the EU may encourage public sector procurement of European technology to support local firms.

 

Politico

Meta Platforms has lost its fight against an Italian ​regulatory order that it should compensate publishers ‌for using snippets of their news articles, in a case which Reuters says underscores ​the ongoing copyright battle over the use of ⁠newspaper articles or authors' work for AI ​training that has triggered litigation against tech companies for infringement. "The Court finds that a right to fair compensation for publishers is consistent with EU law, ​provided that that remuneration constitutes consideration for ​authorising their publications to be used online," said the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice ‌of ⁠the European Union (CJEU).

 

Reuters

Former Spanish football star Gerard Piqué has been fined €200,000 for insider trading after buying shares in a company two days before it was revealed to be a takeover target. Spain's market regulator, the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), described the move as a "very serious" market abuse offence. The former Barcelona defender earned an estimated €47,000 from the deal.

 

Financial Times

Olive Press

European carmakers have taken a €8bn hit in tariff costs in the year since Donald Trump increased import duties. “The operating environment has deteriorated significantly,” Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz said recently.

 

Financial Times

Two former finance directors at Carillion have been fined and banned by the UK's Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for acting "recklessly" before the outsourcing company's collapse in 2018. Richard Adam, Carillion's former group finance director, received a £222,019 fine, while Zafar Khan, his successor, was fined £60,228. The FRC said that the men failed to ensure the accuracy of financial information, highlighting that they "acted recklessly and failed to act with integrity in connection with the preparation of accounting information." The FRC also fined three other former accountants, with penalties of £45,500, £26,000 and £26,000. Adam and Khan were fined by Financial Conduct Authority earlier this year; Adam was fined £232,800 and Khan was handed a £138,900 penalty. 

 

Bloomberg Tax

Financial Times

The Guardian

US businesses want the Trump administration to engage with the European Commission over rules that would require companies to prove their products were not at fault if a customer alleged injury. 

 

Financial Times

Primark has opened a new flagship store in Manhattan’s Herald Square, marking its 40th location in the US and its 11th store in New York state. The 54,000 sq ft site forms part of the Irish retailer’s continued US expansion strategy following recent openings across Texas, Florida, and Illinois. The launch comes shortly after parent company Associated British Foods announced plans to demerge Primark from its food businesses, despite increased competition from online rivals Shein and Temu and weaker trading in continental Europe.

 

Irish Examiner

In Stockholm, the Andon Café is testing the limits of artificial intelligence with an AI agent named "Mona" which oversee operations while human baristas serve coffee. The experimental café, which has been set up by San Francisco-based startup Andon Labs, has made more than $5,700 in sales since it opened in mid-April, but less than $5,000 remains from its original budget of more than $20,000, much of which was spent on one-time setup costs. Emrah Karakaya, an associate professor of industrial economics at Stockholm's KTH Royal Institute of Technology, says putting AI in charge could cause many problems - for example, the apportioning of responsibility if a customer gets food poisoning. “If you don't have the required organisational infrastructure around it, and if you overlook these mistakes, it can cause harm to people, to society, to the environment, to business,” Karakaya cautions. “The question is, do we care about this negative impact?”

 

U.S. News

Eurostar, SBB, and SNCF Voyageurs have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a direct rail connection between London and Switzerland which will be potentially operational by the 2030s. The development follows a cooperation agreement aimed at enhancing partnerships and expanding routes. Demand for international rail travel is rising due to uncertainties in aviation. Direct travel times are estimated at six hours to Zurich, five hours to Basel, and five and a half hours to Geneva.

 

Daily Mail