Germany's ruling coalition has agreed sweeping tax, labour and pension reforms, a breakthrough Chancellor Friedrich Merz said would revive the struggling economy and counter the far right. Berlin recently halved its growth forecast after the US-Israel war on Iran sent energy prices soaring. Merz on Thursday estimated that the reforms could lift trend growth from 0.4 to 0.7 per cent a year.
In Luxembourg, Alphabet lost its long-running fight against a €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine. First imposed in 2018 over Android pre-installation deals, the penalty was upheld by the EU Court of Justice in a final ruling likely to embolden Brussels' Big Tech crackdown.
And in New York, a rumoured Taylor Swift–Travis Kelce wedding at Madison Square Garden could cost at least $20 million, according to Forbes, with "Swiftonomics" promising a bumper weekend for the city's hospitality industry.
