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A cyberattack has disrupted France's postal service, La Poste, halting deliveries during the busy Christmas season. The incident, identified as a distributed denial of service (DDoS), rendered online services inaccessible, affecting package deliveries and banking operations at La Banque Postale. La Poste said that customer data remained secure. The attack follows a recent cyber incident targeting France's Interior Ministry, and further raises concerns about ongoing cyber threats in the region. "Our teams are mobilised to resolve the situation quickly," La Banque Postale said.

 

France 24

Telefonica will reduce its workforce in Spain by up to 5,500 jobs under a voluntary departure plan agreed with trade unions. This represents nearly 25% of its 25,000 employees in the country. The company, which employs 100,000 globally, aims to focus on its core markets, including Spain, Germany, the UK, and Brazil. Telefonica said: "An agreement was reached with the trade unions . . . concerning the implementation of a voluntary departure plan for approximately 5,500 workers." The restructuring plan is expected to cost around €2.5bn before taxes.

 

France 24

Hurriyet Daily News

One in seven of the UK’s blue-chip companies changed their leaders in 2025. “Boardrooms were clearly not frightened of seeking a fresh perspective,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

 

Financial Times

UK fintech SumUp is exploring an IPO but faces a key decision on whether to list in Europe or the US. Advisers recommend a European listing due to limited US revenue, despite broader trends favouring New York. Klarna's underwhelming US debut adds to the debate. SumUp's Chief Commercial Officer Luke Griffiths observed: “We don’t have the brand presence in the US that we have in Europe,” while also acknowledging improved European IPO conditions. A shift in sentiment, driven by performance gaps and potential US regulatory hurdles, is prompting more firms to reconsider domestic listings.

 

Bloomberg

European banks have been snapping up businesses formerly owned by buyout firms at a record rate, a Lex analysis of Bloomberg data says, with more than $15bn of acquisitions this year. 

 

Financial Times

Mercedes-Benz will pay $149.6m to settle allegations from 48 US states and territories that it used illegal software to cheat diesel emissions tests. Nearly 40,000 affected vehicles emitted up to 40 times the legal pollution limits. The automaker will provide $2,000 to each eligible vehicle owner and cover emissions repairs, along with extended warranties. New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed the deal, which Mercedes says won’t impact its bottom line. The company previously paid $2.2bn in 2020 for related claims and still faces legal actions abroad.

 

Reuters

A court in Brazil's Minas Gerais state has issued a preliminary injunction against Nestle, halting its use of the Coffee+ brand due to potential consumer confusion with the Brazilian company Coffee++. Judge Claudia Helena Batista said that Nestle's branding could harm Coffee++, which has held the trademark since 2020, and warned of unspecified fines if the company does not comply. Coffee++'s CEO, Leonardo Montesanto, pledged to defend the brand vigorously, emphasising the importance of protecting Brazilian trademarks against larger corporations.

 

Reuters

Ryanair has been fined €255m by Italy's competition authority for allegedly obstructing travel agencies from combining its flights with other airlines. The regulator claims Ryanair's actions, which included blocking payments and limiting how agents could feature its services, constituted an abuse of its dominant market position. Ryanair plans to appeal the ruling, asserting that it has a non-dominant market share of over 30% and that its distribution model benefits consumers.

 

Daily Mail

The Guardian

The EU is preparing checks on imported plastics and other measures as the bloc moves towards a single market for waste and clearer rules for chemical recycling.

 

Financial Times

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Goodman Group will invest A$3.9bn ($2.6bn) to develop data centres in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris, capitalising on the AI-driven surge in power and storage demand. Construction will begin by June 2026. Goodman’s shares rose 6.7% on the news. The partnership reflects growing global investment in data infrastructure, with projects scaling up rapidly amid what AirTrunk CEO Robin Khuda called “the single-biggest gold rush in human history.” The boom is also driving major acquisitions, including Alphabet’s $4.75bn Intersect Power deal.

 

Bloomberg

Amazon has blocked more than 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents attempting to apply for remote working IT jobs using stolen or fake identities, Amazon's chief security officer Stephen Schmidt has said in a LinkedIn post. "Their objective is typically straightforward: get hired, get paid, and funnel wages back to fund the regime's weapons programs," he said, adding that this trend is likely to be happening at scale across the industry, especially in the US. Amazon has witnessed a nearly one-third increase in job applications from North Koreans in the past year, Schmidt said, adding that the operatives typically work with people managing "laptop farms" - a reference to computers based in the US that are run remotely from outside of the country. Amazon used a combination of artificial intelligence tools and verification by its staff to screen job applications, he said.

 

BBC News

Tech in Asia

The Register

Howden Re, in collaboration with Howden Iberia, has been selected to provide natural catastrophe modelling services for Spain's Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS). The CCS offers protection against extraordinary risks, including floods and earthquakes. Howden Re will deliver advanced valuation and Probable Maximum Loss (PML) estimates for various natural hazards. David Santos, Managing Director of Howden Re Iberia, said: “We are very proud of having the opportunity to work with Consorcio to model their NatCat exposure.” The modelling will help CCS enhance its portfolio management and resilience planning.

 

Reinsurance news

Azerbaijan has sent its first fuel shipment to Armenia since the Soviet Union's collapse, marking a significant step in the potential reopening of trade relations between the historically rival nations. The cargo consisted of twenty-two rail wagons of AI-95 gasoline produced by Azerbaijan's state oil company, SOCAR.

 

Bloomberg