Author: Euronews

German politician and defence veteran Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is set to join the race to head the EU executive, after she was fielded to be the lead candidate of Europe’s Liberal party (ALDE) in June’s ballot. ADVERTISEMENTStrack-Zimmermann – who belongs to Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP), part of the country’s three-way governing coalition – was the only name put forward to lead ALDE’s electoral bid.ALDE is one of the three political forces that make up the centrist Renew Europe group, home to liberal, pro-European political parties in the European Parliament.A defence expert who has earned a reputation domestically for her outspoken criticism…

Social media company Reddit is expected to become public this month. The San Francisco-based company said on Monday it is looking to raise almost $750 million (€686 million) in an initial public offering of its common stock. ADVERTISEMENTThe company said in a regulatory filing that the IPO will include 22 million shares of Class A common stock. That means 15.3 million shares should be available, while the selling stockholders are offering about 6.7 million shares.Reddit had been looking to become public since 2021, and officially announced its upcoming IPO last month. The company’s shares are expected to be listed on…

Doom spending may be a coping mechanism to deal with anxieties about personal finances and the wider economic situation but it may be bad for your health. ADVERTISEMENTDoom spending is spending excessive amounts of money on luxury things or experiences, such as travel, to deal with concerns about your own finances or the general economic situation. People may feel like there’s no point in saving, since they feel they won’t be able to achieve their financial goals, and may as well live in the moment.Retail therapy and consumerism in general has long been used for its instant gratification, especially when…

Unlike other major retailers, Inditex doesn’t share the names of its suppliers – a stance that makes investors nervous. ADVERTISEMENTInvestors are putting pressure on Spanish clothing company Inditex to share more information about its supply chain, according to Reuters.Inditex, the largest apparel retailer in the world, is the owner of brands Zara, Bershka, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Oysho and Stradivarius.The firm publishes an annual list detailing the number of suppliers it buys goods from in 12 key countries, but the names of specific factories are withheld.This bucks a trend set by major clothing retailers like Adidas, H&M, and Primark, who all…

The CBT union believes the French multinational retail company is indulging in “illegal practices” in connection with its franchised stores. ADVERTISEMENTCarrefour has more than 12,000 stores across the world, with about 5,000 in France alone. Since 2018, some 300 stores have become franchises and the trend looks set to increase.  The French union CFDT claims resorting to franchises en masse leads to major disadvantages for staff. Although still operating under the Carrefour banner, franchised employees do not enjoy the protection of a multinational company and its strong unions, which can result in them losing previously acquired advantages. The union said…

Far-right groups are expected to do well in June’s European Parliament election. How can left-wing and centrist parties turn this trend around? ADVERTISEMENTThis week we are joined by Laura Shields, from Red Thread EU, Kait Bolongaro, from MLex Europe, and Andrea Renda, from CEPS, the Centre for European Policy Studies.The elections for the European Parliament – now fewer than 100 days away – were our main topic of discussion as campaigning started in earnest with both the Socialist and Democrats (S&D) and the European People’s Party (EPP) holding their congresses over the previous week.  With the extremes expected to do well,…

A new report states that skills needed for jobs are going to change by 51% by 2030 and the rise of Generative AI is further accelerating this change. ADVERTISEMENTWith the rise of Generative AI, the skills needed for jobs globally are expected to change by 68% by 2030, compared to 2016. Yet, a significant number of businesses across Europe are behind in helping their workforce train to use AI, according to a new report by LinkedIn.”While business leaders recognise that their employees will need new skills, less than half of companies in the UK, and just over a third in the Netherlands…

People who can find a way to complement AI with their unique human skills and traits may have an edge over people who steer clear of AI altogether, according to NYU professor Arun Sundararanjan. ADVERTISEMENTSundararajan, who teaches entrepreneurship and digital technologies at the Stern School of Business told Euronews Business: “I think people who understand how to take advantage of AI, to complement their humanity, are going to have an easier time than people who try to shy away from AI, because you know that the generative AI at some point has a very high chance of replicating all or…

The ECB has been vocal about the need for more conclusive evidence of declining inflation and cooling labour markets, before cutting rates. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Central Bank (ECB) will announce its March interest rate decision on Thursday afternoon and is expected to keep interest rates at a 22-year high of 4.5% for the fourth time in a row.However, upcoming forecasts by the bank’s economic staff are likely to show decreased economic growth and falling inflation for the coming year. This could potentially put more pressure on Lagarde to cut interest rates in the near future.David Powell, senior euro-area economist for Bloomberg…

Two years after the new law took effect, the much-heralded pan-European pensions product has only one provider, in just four member states. ADVERTISEMENTFive years after the EU finalised its new pan-European pensions product, PEPP, take-up is disappointing.As it stands, there’s just one provider – Finax. Chief Executive Officer Juraj Hrbatý says its PEPP has around €11m in assets under management and is currently only available to savers in four member states.“After one year of seriously running, we had around 5000 customers,” Hrbatý told Euronews. “It’s less than we expected.”By his own admission, his newcomer company is, in the context of…