Persistently weak inflation readings risk damaging the Federal Reserve’s ability to anchor inflation expectations at its target level, the president of the New York Fed has warned.

Brussels will appeal a court ruling that carmakers have warned could force them to halt the production of millions of vehicles by suddenly tightening environmental testing rules.

Metro Bank has been awarded the largest share of an EU-mandated fund to boost competition in the UK’s business banking sector, despite being under pressure over a serious accounting error.

Volkswagen is projecting higher sales and margins this year even as global car demand appears to have peaked, with deliveries in China, the US and Europe all declining in 2018.

The European Union’s plans for tariff reduction talks with the US received a boost on Friday as ministers rebuffed calls from France to delay the transatlantic negotiations until after May’s EU elections.

A truck carrying acid to a copper and cobalt mine in the Congo owned by Glencore killed 20 people after colliding with two minivans, the miner said.

Three US branches of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have had deficient compliance programmes since 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said on Friday.

US stocks were set to end the week on a high note on Friday, as investors hunkered down ahead of speeches from policymakers and remained optimistic about US-China trade talks that continue in Washington.

Barrick Gold said it had “reviewed the opportunity” to merge with rival Newmont Mining but said no decision had been taken on the deal.

The pound slipped back under $1.30 at lunchtime on Friday, returning to levels seen earlier in the week as another five days of Brexit uncertainty began to wind up.

Brussels has accused Telefónica Deutschland of breaching commitments it gave when it acquired E-Plus for €8.5bn in 2013, and warned that it might force a reversal of the deal.

The UK Serious Fraud Office has closed its investigations into Rolls-Royce and GlaxoSmithKline, underlining the agency’s challenge to prosecute individuals whose companies have been linked to criminal activity.

Dublin has published a set of emergency laws to confront a no-deal Brexit, warning that failure in exit talks with the UK would lead to a “lose, lose, lose” scenario for Britain, the EU and Ireland.

A senior EU official warned the bloc had no plans to agree any changes to its Brexit offer on the sidelines of a summit with Arab League leaders that starts on Sunday in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Rivals BMW and Mercedes-parent Daimler said they would invest €1bn and create 1,000 new jobs as they pool their efforts on “urban mobility” ride-hailing, car-sharing and electric vehicle sharing.

Barclays said that Sir Gerry Grimstone, a non-executive director of the bank and chairman of its non-ringfenced division, would step down at the end of this month.

Business confidence in Germany this month slid to its lowest level since December 2014 in the latest sign of weakness in the Eurozone’s largest economy.

Labour MP Ian Austin on Friday resigned from Britain’s main opposition party in a major challenge to its leftwing leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Pearson reported a slide in sales on Friday — but profits rose at the educational publishing group as it promised to stabilise the company this year amid a painful restructuring.

London-listed cheese and butter maker Dairy Crest has agreed to a £975m takeover by Canadian dairy conglomerate Saputo.

Queues for Eurostar train services at London’s St Pancras International could reach up to 15,000 passengers each day in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to a confidential report drawn up by the British government. 

The Hong Kong chief executive of insurance group Jardine Lloyd Thompson is leaving the company, according to an internal memo seen by the FT.

US and Chinese negotiators are trying to resolve a long-running dispute between semiconductor rivals Micron Technologies and Fujian Jinhua as part of a larger trade agreement between the world’s two largest economies, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

The slump in Thailand’s exports gathered pace last month, pushing the country to its widest trade deficit in almost six years in the latest sign of Asian exporters being hit by slowing regional growth.