Scout24, the German online listings company, is exploring a sale that may see the business taken private for more than €5bn just three years after it attained a public listing.

After struggling for direction most of the day, Wall Street ended mixed on Thursday as investors adopted a cautious tone as they watched for signs of progress in trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.

French police have shot and killed a gunman who left three people dead after opening fire at Strasbourg’s Christmas market on Tuesday evening.

Nigeria has filed a $1.1bn legal claim against international energy majors Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in London on Thursday, linked to a controversial 2011 deal for an oil licence.

Airline stocks suffered a broad sell-off on Thursday as weaker than expected earnings guidance from Delta Air Lines further rattled already shaky sentiment towards the sector.

Appetite for bonds has bounced back, with investors snapping up today’s $16bn sale of 30-year Treasuries despite the lowest interest rate on the bonds since September.

RPS Group, the global environmental consultancy, has held talks with buyout firm Charterhouse Capital Partners about a potential takeover offer.

Mariia Butina, the Russian agent arrested in Washington this summer, admitted to attempting to “establish unofficial lines of communications” with US political figures in federal court on Thursday morning.

General Electric shares rose sharply on Thursday after a Wall Street analyst who had predicted their downfall gave the beleaguered stock an upgrade.

The global rulemaker for banks is trying to crack down on lenders’ practice of gaming of regulations by flattering their accounts just before quarterly reporting periods.

Early gains for Wall Street were evaporating in morning trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite sliding into negative territory.

US agritech start-up Indigo Ag has increased its offering for farmers by acquiring a satellite and artificial intelligence group, enhancing data-based decision-making for their clients, who include growers and agricultural buyers.

The age-old trading maxim “buy the dip” appears to be losing its hold over investors’ collective psyche.

Morgan Stanley is to close its equities and FX trading desks in Moscow as a stagnant Russian economy and sanctions continue to chip away at western investment banks’ business there, two people familiar with the plans told the Financial Times.

Renault’s board opted to keep Carlos Ghosn in position after saying it had not yet gathered sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to remove him from his posts as chief executive and chairman at the French carmaker.

France’s Emmanuel Macron has warned that EU talks with Theresa May today in Brussels cannot go beyond a “political discussion”, as he stressed that Britain’s Brexit deal cannot be reopened.

EU27 leaders are ready to play with legal solutions to help Theresa May win over her critical MPs over never using a backstop solution for Ireland, but have warned they will not begin to renegotiate a 565-page Brexit treaty.

The euro wilted across the board and hit the day’s lows against its major peers, losing 0.25 per cent of its value against the dollar during ECB President Mario Draghi’s press conference after he said that the balance of risks is shifting to the downside.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he “never directed Michael Cohen to break the law,” seeking to distance himself further from his former lawyer and one-time fixer, who was handed a three-year prison sentence yesterday.

Mario Draghi, the ECB president, has acknowledged that slower growth lies ahead for the eurozone, reflecting persistently weak data for the region in recent months.

US stock futures pointed to a muted start to trading on Wall Street on Thursday as investors digest the latest developments in US-China trade relations.

BlackRock, one of the most influential mining investors, has cut its stake in London-listed lithium miner Bacanora Minerals, following its struggle to secure financing this year.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s victory in a leadership contest kept sterling above its recent lows on Thursday, but analysts warned the outlook for the currency remained fragile amid the Brexit tumult.

Theresa May’s former Brexit Secretary has said it is “very difficult to see” how she can remain as prime minister after surviving an attempted coup by Eurosceptic Conservative MP.