Retail sales grow strongly in Aug with 5.3 pct YoY rise
Greece’s retail sales accelerated growth with a 5.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) in August, after a 3.9 percent increase in July, Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data showed on Friday.
Main findings from the ECB’s recent contacts with non-financial companies
This box summarises the findings of recent contacts between ECB staff and representatives of 71 leading non-financial companies operating in the euro area. According to these exchanges, which took place between 29 September and 9 October 2025, business conditions improved slightly in recent months, but they remained consistent with only modest growth in activity, with the manufacturing sector still weighed down by tariffs, uncertainty and challenges to competitiveness. The employment outlook also remained relatively subdued. Price growth continued to moderate.
Government unveils 2.5 bln plan to avert water shortages, prompts opposition pushback
The government unveiled a high‑profile package of water projects on Thursday aimed at staving off a looming scarcity crisis that officials say threatens large parts of the country, particularly Attica and Thessaloniki.
Eurobank net profits exceed 1 bln up to Sep, commissions jump 24 pct YoY to 557.2 mln
Eurobank posted a net profit of 1.03 billion euros in 9M 2025, from 1.13 billion euros a year earlier, down by 9 percent year-on-year (YoY).
In China Truce on Tariffs and Rare Earths, National Security Controls Are Bargaining Chip
Some analysts say Beijing won a major victory in its trade talks: Getting the U.S. to withdraw a national security measure that previously was not under discussion.
Soybean Farmers Find Relief in U.S. Trade Truce With China
President Trump said China would end its boycott and resume buying millions of tons of American soybeans.
What will Trump’s deal with Xi mean for the US economy and relations with China? Expert Q&A
It was 12 out of ten, said US president Donald Trump when reporting back on his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The two men met in the South Korean city of Busan on October 30, the first time they have come together face to face since 2019.
That, in itself, must be seen as progress after months of rising tensions. Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the world’s two biggest powers have squared off in what has threatened to become an increasingly damaging trade war.
Trump-Xi talks will not have changed the priorities of the Chinese government
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has met with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, for their first face-to-face talks in six years. Trump emerged from the meeting in South Korea in a buoyant mood, describing it as a 12 on a scale of one to ten. He is now saying the US will lower tariffs on Chinese imports, with Beijing giving the US better access to rare earths in return.
Why healthcare’s ‘do no harm’ ethic must include the planet
Roman Larchikov/ShutterstockEvery product we touch has a footprint. A phone, a fridge, a hospital syringe. Each begins and ends in the same place: the planet’s resources.
The EU’s recent ecodesign for sustainable products regulation aims to break the cycle of take, make, waste by forcing manufacturers to think circularly. Products will need to last longer, be easier to repair and feed back into the economy instead of the landfill.
Why ‘green’ finance isn’t always as sustainable as it seems
VectorMine/ShutterstockIn the wake of the 2007-08 global financial crisis, green finance has been increasingly celebrated as a way to tackle environmental challenges. Banks, investment funds and insurers have rolled out a growing range of green products, from green bonds to sustainability-linked loans. This momentum is encouraged by international environmental efforts such as the Paris climate agreement.
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