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France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has ordered the country's ministries to shift their video calls to Visio, an application developed by the French government, from American-owned tools such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, by the end of the year. “To guarantee the security, confidentiality and resilience of public electronic communications, it is  . . . imperative to deploy a unified videoconferencing solution, controlled by the State, based on sovereign technologies,” he wrote in a letter. The tool was built by the French government with Outscale, a France-based cloud company, and enlisted two French AI companies, Pyannote and Kyutai, to offer transcription and subtitling services.

 

Financial Times

New York Times

Skills shortages, cumbersome bureaucracy and uncertain long-term funding mean the European Union's $955bn "Next Generation" post-pandemic recovery fund, agreed six years ago and billed as a "chance to emerge stronger," has struggled to transform the region's economy. The European Commission says the fund has delivered on both its short- and long-term goals, but officials, businesses and others interviewed by Reuters have said the outcome was more differentiated. There is broad consensus, however, that the fund cushioned the blow from the pandemic.

 

Reuters

Swiss trading house Trafigura has won a victory at London's High Court after a judge found businessman Prateek Gupta liable for fraud involving fake nickel cargoes. Trafigura claimed Gupta was the mastermind of a "Ponzi scheme" in which he and his companies agreed to provide high-quality 99.8% pure nickel but delivered low-value or even worthless materials instead. The long-running legal dispute began in 2023 after the fake nickel shipments emerged and Trafigura filed charges against its former business partner Gupta. The ruling by Judge Justice Saini recommends that Geneva-based Trafigura is entitled to relief for “sums of about $500m, together with substantial damages.”

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

France has blocked satellite operator Eutelsat from selling its ground antenna business to private equity firm EQT. French finance minister Roland Lescure told French television channel TF1 that the company’s antennas are strategic assets because they are used for both civilian and military purposes. “I decided to not allow Eutelsat, a big French satellite company, to sell its ground-based antenna that communicate with satellites,” Lescure explained. “These antenna are used for civil communication and military communication. Eutelsat is the only European competitor to Starlink, it’s obviously a strategic asset, so I said no.”

 

Bloomberg

Euractiv

Financial Times

Reuters

UK and EU officials are intensifying negotiations over a Brexit reset deal. While ministers aim to finalise a deal by the end of May, discussions have stalled on topics including genetically modified food and the role of European courts. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK's Minister for European Union Relations, and his EU counterpart, Maros Sefcovic, have agreed to hold fortnightly discussions in a bid to drive progress on the talks and address key areas of difference between the two sides. Mr Thomas-Symonds said: "We want to step the political engagement up even further to iron out issues." He added that the government is taking a "ruthlessly pragmatic approach" to the negotiations, with a focus on what could deliver tangible benefits for the UK.

 

The Times

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has restricted the activities of private equity-backed UK insurance group Markerstudy across its licensed businesses amid concerns about governance and financial controls.

 

Financial Times

AstraZeneca has begun trading its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time under a harmonised global listing structure alongside London and Stockholm, broadening access to US investors while the firm's existing UK and Swedish listings remain unchanged. Peel Hunt’s Head of Research Charles Hall has observed that the risk is that in the long term, trading in the shares will mainly shift to the US. “Assuming that liquidity materially increases in the US, and given that the majority of shares are owned by international investors, we believe it is highly likely that in time the company may consider moving its primary listing from London to the US,” he said in a note in October.

 

Bloomberg

Insurance broker Aon has reported an increase in fourth quarter adjusted profit amid robust demand for its risk management offerings. Reuters notes that global insurance spending has remained resilient as individuals and businesses prioritise coverage to mitigate against risks including trade and geopolitical uncertainty, as well as natural disasters.

 

Reuters

LVMH's cognac maker Hennessy has reached a pay deal with unions to compensate for lost bonuses due to weak sales last year. The agreement includes one-off payments of 6.8% of annual salaries, with minimum payments around €3,200 and a maximum of €6,500. The deal is aimed at preventing strike action; LVMH's champagne brands Moet & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot have seen strikes over similar bonus issues. Hennessy has faced challenges, with profits halved in the past two years, impacted by US tariffs and declining demand for alcoholic drinks.

 

Reuters

UK investment minister Jason Stockwood has revealed there are talks within government about introducing a universal basic income to support workers in industries likely to be hit by AI. Stockwood said that society must prepare for significant changes, and suggested a need for "some sort of concessionary arrangement" for jobs that are lost. He said: "People are definitely talking about it." Recent research from Morgan Stanley indicates that the UK is losing more jobs than it creates due to AI.

 

Financial Times

The Guardian

The Czech Republic is ceasing black coal mining with the closure of its last mine, according to state mining company OKD. The decision aligns with the EU's green policies aimed at reducing emissions. Stefan Pinter, union head at OKD's CSM mine, cited declining fossil fuel use and low coal prices as key factors. The region has seen significant job losses, with OKD's workforce expected to shrink to fewer than 700. Environmentalists have welcomed the shutdown as attesting to the country's plan to quit coal mining by 2030, when the last brown coal mine is due to close.

 

France 24

Hyundai Motor has confirmed that it will not exercise its option to repurchase a manufacturing plant in Russia, which it sold amid the war in Ukraine. The decision follows the expiration of a buyback option that had been part of the sale agreement, originally made for a nominal fee of 140,000 won (approximately $97). With significant market share now claimed by Chinese brands, Hyundai continues to provide warranty services for previously sold vehicles while grappling with the challenges posed by the current conflict.

 

Reuters

KLM has announced it will resume flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai this week after a temporary suspension due to geopolitical tensions. Flights to Dubai will restart on February 1, while those to Tel Aviv are set for February 2 and 3. The airline had previously resumed operations to Riyadh and Dammam after halting services on January 23. KLM said: "Choosing safe and optimal routes is a core part of our daily operations." The airline said it will continue to monitor the situation closely to adjust flight schedules as needed.

 

NL Times

Research from the University of Bristol suggests that job type significantly influences savings behaviour. The study, published in the journal Sociology, found that business and finance professionals are 10% more likely to save than those in education and 31% more likely to save than those in creative roles. They also save 28% more of their income compared to educators and 89% more than creatives. Karina Pavlisa, from the University of Bristol, said that some professions leave employees better equipped to save because of the skills picked up in the workplace. The study suggests that financial education could help improve savings across various professions. Research by the Financial Conduct Authority, which polled 17,950 people in 2025, found that 14% of adults had low levels of savings to withstand financial shocks and highlighted a widespread lack of confidence about managing money.

 

The Times