Economy

Political situation in France
Lagarde opens up about early exit from ECB

ECB President Christine Lagarde does not rule out leaving her post before her mandate expires in October 2027, writes CNBC.

The reason why Lagarde is considering resigning early is that she believes a European voice is needed in the French presidential election debate in 2027. She fears that France's role in Europe will otherwise be diminished.

When asked if she is considering supporting a candidate in the presidential election or running herself, she replies:

- I will ask myself some questions.

As it stands right now, Jordan Bardella from the far-right National Rally party is the favorite to take over as president after Emmanuel Macron.

Saab sales
Finland buys Saab's Robot 70 for just over a billion

Finland is buying the new generation of Saab's air defense robot system Robot 70, according to a press release. The procurement is worth 108 million euros, equivalent to 1.2 billion kronor.

– We are developing Finland's air defense system on a broad front, says Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen in a statement.

The characteristics of Saab's RBS 70 NG, as the system is formally called, are said to improve Finland's ability to repel drones and manned aircraft.

After the announcement, Saab's share is trading towards zero after being in the red all morning.

Germany's growth
Thousands protested against Mercedes savings plans

Thousands of employees demonstrated on Friday outside the automotive giant Mercedes-Benz factories in Germany, writes TT. The protests, organized by the IG Metall union, concerned the savings proposals announced by Mercedes.

According to the union, more than 33,000 workers participated in the protests. Mercedes-Benz stated that 16,000 people demonstrated at six of their factories.

Last week, information came that Volkswagen will get rid of almost 100,000 employees in the coming years. 

Tariff crisis Trump's business
Trump bought technology giants – tariff pause triggered stock market rally

Donald Trump made 327 stock purchases in companies such as Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia a few days after his tariff shock lowered world stock markets. The following day, he wrote on social media that it was "a fantastic buying opportunity" before pausing most of the tariffs, which lifted the S&P 500 by a historic 9.5 percent. This is shown by CNBC's review of the president's financial accounts that were recently published.

The technology giants that Trump had bought were among the winners in the stock market rally.

The White House states that Trump's assets are managed by external actors and dismisses suspicions of conflicts of interest. However, on social media, small savers have likened the actions to market manipulation, according to CNBC.

The IT threat to society
Expert: AI increases the threat when entrepreneurs take vacation

Despite the fact that the number of cyber attacks is increasing sharply, many entrepreneurs go on vacation without incident preparedness at the same time as IT departments are at their lowest staffing levels, writes DI.

It is a dangerous combination, while new AI models make it easier for attackers to find vulnerabilities, warns Pernilla Rönn at the technology security company Hiq.

- You can now find vulnerabilities with the new effective AI models that you have not previously been able to find for many years, she tells DI.

Previously, companies could patch vulnerabilities with weekly updates. Today, it has to happen within minutes, says Rönn.