British inflation slowed more than expected in November but remained near the highest level in more than 40 years, official data showed Wednesday, as a cost-of-living crisis sparks fresh UK strikes.

Swiss food giant Nestle said Monday it was opening a new production site in war-torn Ukraine, and would invest tens of millions in a factory and production network set to employ 1,500 people.

German investor confidence rose more than expected in December, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, as hopes grow that surging energy prices are coming down and record-high inflation is nearing its zenith.

Britain’s jobless rate rose for a second month and there were other signs in data on Tuesday that some of the inflationary heat in the labour market is cooling as the economy stumbles, including an increase in older people looking for work.

The European Union has enough gas for the winter but could face a shortage next year if Russia cuts supplies further, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday, urging governments to act faster to save energy and expand renewables.

EU countries, led by Belgium and Luxembourg, have frozen 18.9 billion euros of assets belonging to Russian oligarchs and entities hit by sanctions over the war on Ukraine, Brussels has said.

The UK government will on Friday unveil post-Brexit plans to overhaul and preserve its powerful financial services industry, as it also seeks to boost a flagging economy facing recession.

Major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Sunday to maintain their current output levels in a climate of uncertainty and ahead of fresh sanctions against Moscow coming into force next week.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven countries across the world to boost energy efficiency, creating  “huge potential” to tackle high prices, security and climate change, the IEA said on Friday.

Germany’s Bundestag lower house of parliament voted by a majority on Thursday to back the ratification of the European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada, five years after it provisionally went into force.

Unemployment in the eurozone has dropped to a record low, at 6.5 per cent in October, the EU’s Eurostat statistics office said Thursday.

The eurozone annual inflation rate fell for the first time in 17 months in November as it slowed to 10 per cent, official data showed Wednesday.

The inflation rate in Europe’s top economy dropped to 10 per cent for November, preliminary data from Germany’s federal statistics agency Destatis showed. This comes after hitting a record high in October.

Euro zone inflation has not peaked, and the risk is that it will turn out even higher than currently expected, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Monday.

Europe’s retailers are hoping Black Friday discount day will get shoppers spending, though it is taking place against a backdrop of a worsening cost-of-living crisis and the distraction of the soccer World Cup.

German automaker BMW said Friday it plans to invest more than two billion euros ($2.1 billion) at its under-construction Hungarian factory and is building an electric battery assembly plant on site.

The European Central Bank’s top economic thinkers are sparring over the outlook for inflation and rates, leaving investors scratching their heads over the ECB’s next policy moves.

Germany will have to take on more debt than expected in 2023 to combat an energy crisis that has left Europe’s biggest economy facing  “great economic uncertainty”, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Tuesday.

World growth is set to slide from 3.1 per cent this year to 2.2 per cent next year due to high inflation, before rebounding slightly to 2.7 per cent in 2024, the OECD said Tuesday.

Britain needs more migrant labour to boost productivity as it faces a toxic mix of soaring inflation and shrinking growth, the country’s main lobby group warned Monday.