Germany's general data retention law violates EU law, Europe's top court ruled on Tuesday, dealing a blow to member states banking on blanket data collection to fight crime and safeguard national security.

Zara owner Inditex's strong first-half results show its strategy of raising prices since early 2022 paying off so far, but it and other fashion retailers have to be careful not to overdo it with further hikes that may scare away shoppers, analysts said.

The Bank of England looks set to hike borrowing costs by another 50 basis points next week, although it may opt for an even bigger move, a Reuters poll found, adding to the woes of indebted households already facing a cost of living crisis.

The precipitous slide in Japan's currency has run so far and fast it's spooking big investors, and some are cutting bets that it will decline further, anticipating policymakers may soon step in to try and arrest the freefall.

Sterling's slide against the dollar to a rate last seen in 1985 has sparked talk of a dramatic spiral downwards that ends in a collapse in confidence in British assets and a balance of payments crisis.

Britain's surging inflation could slow if new Prime Minister Liz Truss helps households and businesses cope with rocketing energy costs, but it is too soon to say what that will mean for interest rates, the BoE's chief economist said.

Britain's new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Wednesday readied the final details of a plan to tackle soaring energy bills, which looks likely to cool inflation but add more than 100 billion pounds ($115 billion) to the country's borrowing.

Even though fears of another "sterling crisis" have been wide of the mark for decades, they are harder to bat away this time around as a fourth British prime minister in six years takes the helm.

Some of Europe's biggest banks are preparing back-up generators and to dim the lights as they brace for potential power cuts and energy rationing that threaten the money system underpinning the region's economy.

Undaunted, Truss declared from the steps of 10 Downing Street Tuesday that tax cuts would indeed form part of her package to address economic turmoil stoked by Russia's war in Ukraine and the pandemic aftermath.

Sterling, down about 15% this year and wallowing around 2-1/2 year lows against the dollar, was expected to hover near Tuesday's $1.16 level in one and three months time.

Share markets pushed higher and Europe's bond markets and euro stole a breather from energy-price driven sell-offs on Thursday, as investors waited to hear the latest reaction of the world's top central bankers to soaring inflation.

Banking giants such as JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America collectively face more than $1 billion in regulatory fines for employees' use of unapproved messaging tools, including email and apps like WhatsApp.

Credit Suisse has hired Deutsche Bank's Dixit Joshi as chief financial officer and promoted Francesca McDonagh to chief operating officer as the Swiss lender's new boss overhauls the top ranks.

Still uncertain on where U.S. stocks are headed, equity hedge funds are sitting out the market rally despite taking big paper losses on bearish bets since June, according to industry executives and market data.

European shares rose on Friday after GSK led a rebound in healthcare stocks, while Flutter fuelled a rally in the travel and leisure sector after an upbeat earnings forecast.

Deutsche Telekom on Thursday raised its annual earnings forecast for the second time after beating quarterly estimates, and said it could achieve its goal of a majority stake in U.S.

A hot, dry July made worse by climate change has raised the risk that the German economy could run aground as sinking Rhine waters make shipping along the river harder.

Already bracing for recession and winter energy shortages, German businesses are grappling with the lack of another precious commodity: rain.

European shares edged lower on Friday as crude prices continued to weigh on energy stocks, with all eyes on U.S. jobs data expected later in the day.

Regulators require finance companies to keep a record of vast swathes of staff communications to deter and uncover infringements such as insider trading.

European banks this week offered flashes of surprisingly good news on profits, but some executives spoke of a bleak outlook for the rest of the year.

Orange and MasMovil's $19 billion Spanish telecom merger is set to be a test case for whether Europe's antitrust regulators have become more lenient in approving deals that reduce the number of mobile operators.

Spain's Cellnex said on Wednesday it was withdrawing its offer for a stake in Deutsche Telekom's towers business, paving the way for a competing bid from a consortium led by KKR to secure the estimated 18 billion euro ($18.02 billion) deal.

A cocktail of global growth fears, Federal Reserve hawkishness and euro weakness has boosted the U.S.

The resignations -- after a succession of crises that led to a vote of confidence in Johnson's leadership -- did nothing to dampen speculation that both men still have an eye on the top job.

Turkey cuts access to US, German public broadcasters

If dramatic losses seen in the first half of 2022 are maintained over the coming months, U.S.

Climate activists from Peru to Uganda are descending on Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt this week to call on Germany's largest lender to stop financing fossil fuel companies.

Japan's government bond market is being pushed to breaking point in a contest between foreign speculators and the Bank of Japan, creating challenges for loan pricing and bond sales and raising the prospect of government financing tangles down the track.