David Gow

The European Union will launch plans to invest €50-billion in modernising digital, energy and transport networks and creating jobs.

The continent has invested far less in research and development than Asia and the United States.

The German group had €8-billion in cash at the end of 2008, when it saw profits drop to €921-million from more than €4-billion the previous year.

The European Investment Bank's statutes state that its outstanding loans portfolio cannot exceed 250% of its capital.

Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, is considering plans to put its European workforce on a three-day week.

North America is not the only significant car market affected by a recent slump in sales.

The IEA warns bluntly: "There remains a real risk that under-investment will cause an oil-supply crunch in that time frame."

President elect Barack Obama has only 100 days to save the US auto industry, write David Gow and Mark Milner.

German corporate and consumer confidence sank to new lows last week, hastening fears that Europe's biggest economy is sliding into a deep recession.

A survey of 5 000 businesses reveals less investment and more job cuts, write Kathryn Hopkins and David Gow in London.

UBS, the Swiss bank that has been Europe's biggest casualty of the credit crunch, is to axe 5 500 jobs. Of those 2 600 face compulsory redundancy, mainly in its stricken investment banking arms in London and New York, as it struggles to regain its reputation and investor confidence.

The European Commission got the green light from Europe's second-highest court last week to pursue even more high-profile antitrust actions against dominant global companies. The court upheld the commission's decision that the software group had also abused its dominance by illegally "bundling" its Media Player software into Windows.