Market Pulse - Europe
ECB stand pat, committed to lowering inflation to 2.0%
Rate-setters in Frankfurt stayed put on policy at their latest policy meeting, but reiterated their determination to return inflation to 2. 0% in timely fashion.
Sanofi to take on lead Inhibrx candidate in $2.2bn deal
Inhibrx announced an agreement with Sanofi on Tuesday, under which Sanofi subsidiary Aventis will acquire all assets and liabilities associated with INBRX-101, a recombinant alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) augmentation therapy currently being trialled for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) treatment.
Amazon fails to offer remedies to EU concerns over iRobot acquisition
Shares in iRobot plunged overnight on Wednesday, after Amazon failed to provide solutions to address concerns raised by EU competition regulators regarding its $1. 4bn acquisition of the US domestic robotics giant.
EU to look at Microsoft-OpenAI investment as part of market probe
The European Commission announced two calls for contributions on Tuesday, focusing on competition within virtual worlds and generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI.
Eurozone unemployment narrowly beats forecasts in November
Eurozone unemployment narrowly surpassed market forecasts in November 2023, according to Eurostat, and was in line with June's historic low.
Euro Area retail sales unexpectedly fall in November
Eurozone retail sales fell 0. 3% in November, according to Eurostat, cutting into October's upwardly revised 0. 4% jump and marking the sharpest decline in retail volume since August.
German unemployment rises at slower-than-expected rate in December
Unemployment rose at a slower-than-anticipated rate in Germany during December, according to the Federal Employment Agency, while the annual unemployment rate was one of the lowest since German reunification.