Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said the government has agreed to formally ask regional authorities in Catalonia whether it had declared independence or not, after an ambiguous statement from Catalan President Carles Puigdement. Addressing the Spanish parliament on Wednesday morning, Rajoy said that this requirement “comes before any other measure that could be taken […]

Catalonia stopped short of making a unilateral declaration of independence Tuesday, putting the ball back in the Spanish government’s court as to what will happen next, effectively meaning that the crisis has been stalled rather than resolved, strategists noted. In a widely-anticipated speech, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont told the regional parliament that the people of […]

European stocks look set for a positive open on Wednesday though political risk on the continent remains. The German DAX leads the charge higher, seen up 18 points at 12,967. The U.K. FTSE is set to open up 14 points at 7,553 while the French CAC looks to begin the day’s trading 8 points to […]

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has set out his plans for the future of the province. The current crisis in relations between Catalonia and Spain comes after pro-separatist sentiment in the wealthy northeast region came to a head with a symbolic referendum on independence on October 1. Then, around 90 percent of the 2.26 million voters […]

BAE Systems will shed 2,000 jobs as new chief executive Charles Woodburn tries to shake up Britain’s biggest defense contractor in the face of dwindling orders for the Typhoon fighter jet. The Eurofighter Typhoon has won fewer orders this year than the rival Rafale built by France’s Dassault Aviation, as a major order expected from […]

The clock is ticking down towards a meeting of the Catalan parliament Tuesday afternoon at which region leader Carles Puigdemont is widely expected to make some kind of declaration of independence. Most political analysts believe that Puigdemont — who has been threatened with arrest if he does makes a unilateral declaration of independence in parliament […]

Luxembourg is assessing whether to appeal against the European Commission’s order to reclaim nearly $300 million in unpaid taxes from Amazon, the country’s finance minister has told CNBC. “We do not seem to agree, we considered that there was no state aid on our side, there was no selective advantage that was given to the […]

Finance experts from the euro zone have weighed in on comments made by Wolfgang Schaeuble, after the German finance minister warned that debt and liquidity problems could spark the next global crisis. Euro zone officials told CNBC that they are aware there could feasibly be another financial crisis around the corner, and believe that debt […]

All eyes are on Catalonia to see whether the region’s leader and its parliament could declare a unilateral declaration of independence when it meets on Tuesday afternoon. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is set to address the regional parliament in Barcelona at 5:00 p.m. London time and speculation is mounting that he could declare independence, despite […]

Major European bourses look set to open lower Tuesday morning as political instability in the Catalonia region of Spain continues to rumble on. The U.K.’s FTSE is seen 8 points lower, set to open at 7,500. Meanwhile, the French CAC is expected to open 7 points down at 5,359. The German DAX is set to […]