Germany's ruling coalition has agreed on 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 Iran war sent energy prices soaring. On Thursday, Merz estimated that the reforms could lift trend growth from 0.4 to 0.7 percent per year.
In Luxembourg, Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company, 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, the Taylor Swift–Travis Kelce wedding rumoured to take place 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.
