EWP is a pure-play bet on Spanish large-cap equities. It tracks the MSCI Spain Index and holds roughly 30 publicly traded Spanish companies, giving investors concentrated exposure to a single economy rather than the blended eurozone exposure you'd get from a broader fund. The ETF has been around since March 1996 and currently holds about $1.9 billion in net assets.
Nscale has now raised over $4.5 billion across equity rounds in less than six months. The capital funds Nscale's vertically integrated AI infrastructure, consisting of GPU compute, networking, data services, and orchestration software, with expansion planned across Europe, North America, and Asia.
Services experienced the highest annual increase at 3.4%, followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco at 2.5%. Non-energy industrial goods saw a more modest increase of 0.7%. Meanwhile, energy prices fell by 3.1% over the month, which helped to temper overall inflation pressures.
The IAA covers several key sectors, including steel, cement, aluminum, cars and innovative technologies, such as batteries, solar, wind and nuclear. The new rules would set a minimum requirement for projects using public funds. For example, aluminum sector projects would require 25% of the aluminum to be produced in the EU and with low-carbon technologies. For cement, the equivalent rate would be 5%.
"While it encouraging to see insolvency rates decrease, we know that big name brands are struggling and the outlook for 2026 is far from rosy. Retailers and hospitality businesses who had hoped for more support from the Autumn Budget are now facing increased uncertainty. It seems as though the New Year may already see another Government U-turn, this time backing down on plans to scrap business rates relief for pubs that has been in force since the pandemic."
As tensions simmer between the European Union and the U.S. over the Trump administration's trade policies and its play for Greenland, we've been hearing about the EU's economic "bazooka." What is it? AILSA CHANG, HOST: Things are quite tense right now between the U.S. and the European Union. Sources of that tension include the Trump administration's trade policies and its play for Greenland, which, in turn, has led to talk about the EU's anticoercion mechanism, also known as its economic bazooka.
The European Central Bank (ECB) held its key interest rates unchanged following the February meeting of the Governing Council, in line with Cebr projections. This marks the fifth consecutive hold, despite a below-target inflation reading of 1.7% in January, the lowest level since 2021. The decision to hold rates also comes despite a recent Euro rally against the dollar, which is expected to add disinflationary pressure through cheaper imports and weigh on growth by making the bloc's exports more expensive.
Campaigners from the Climate Action Network, a pan-European group of NGOs, said European industry was under real pressure from high energy prices, ageing assets, global overcapacity and delayed investments, but these issues could not be solved by watering down climate and environmental policies. Deregulation is not an industrial strategy, the group wrote in an open letter, which argued that the problems facing energy-intensive industries, including steel, cement and chemicals, were driven by prices of fossil fuel-derived energy and global market dynamics, rather than environmental regulation.
Do you remember a time in your city in Spain when bar and restaurant terraces were not packed with locals having fun (except for during the Covid-19 lockdown, of course)? No matter how tight finances are, Spaniards always seem to have the money for eating and drinking out. Some would say this carpe diem attitude is to be admired rather than sniffed at. After all, it goes hand in hand with the much-admired Spanish lifestyle - outdoors, in the company of others, enjoying the moment.
The electronic version of the money used in the 21-nation currency area would be available to use free of charge in shops, online or from person to person. Supporters say it would let Europeans make online payments without relying on US payment systems -- as Europe ramps up efforts to break its dependence on foreign firms including US giants such as Visa and Mastercard. Critics fear it would allow governments to surveil citizens' payments or even cut them off from the money supply.
The European Union has formally inaugurated NanoIC, a semiconductor pilot line backed by a €700 million investment under the European Chips Act. The facility aims to accelerate the development of advanced chip technologies and strengthen Europe's position in the global semiconductor landscape. Situated at the research hub imec in Leuven, NanoIC is designed as an open pilot line where companies, research institutes, and startups can prototype and test cutting-edge components before commercial deployment.