Downing Street has asserted its right to set tax rates after an EU leader warned Britain against “aggressiveness” in slashing business levies during Brexit talks. A Number 10 spokeswoman said it is up to each member state how they set their taxes, following the comments made by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven. Source Independent
Construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been completed for 58.7% of its total length, the Russian gas holding said on Monday. “Construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline continues. 1,441 km of the gas pipeline were laid on the bottom of the Baltic Sea by now – 58.7% of its total length,” Gazprom says. Source Tass.
Germany’s economy “should shrink slightly” in the second quarter of 2019, the country’s central bank Bundesbank said in its monthly report published here on Monday. “Special effects that contributed to a noticeable rise in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter (of the current year) are either expiring or being reversed,” the report said. Source Xnhuanet
Deutsche Bank is planning to overhaul its trading operations by creating a so-called bad bank to hold tens of billions of euros of non-core assets, a source close to the matter said on Monday. Source: Reuters
