{"id":65335,"date":"2025-12-25T05:35:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T05:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/europe-bulletin-ftse-slips-us-eu-clash-escalates-secure-trusts-big-move\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T05:35:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T05:35:39","slug":"europe-bulletin-ftse-slips-us-eu-clash-escalates-secure-trusts-big-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/europe-bulletin-ftse-slips-us-eu-clash-escalates-secure-trusts-big-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe bulletin: FTSE slips, US-EU clash escalates, Secure Trust’s big move"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Invezz )<\/b>
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European markets drifted into the Christmas break as thin trading left the FTSE slightly lower, even as the index capped a standout year of outperformance.<\/p>\n

Politics, meanwhile, moved faster than markets: Washington\u2019s visa bans on EU tech figures sharpened a transatlantic clash over free speech and regulation, while Paris pushed to shape Ukraine\u2019s security future.<\/p>\n

In corporate news, Secure Trust Bank shored up its balance sheet with a clean exit from troubled motor finance.<\/p>\n

FTSE slips in thin holiday trade<\/h2>\n


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The FTSE 100 dipped 0.1% on Wednesday as the London stock exchange wrapped up early for Christmas.<\/p>\n

Homebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon climbed 0.5% each, but healthcare stocks fell 0.5%, dragged down by AstraZeneca\u2019s 0.7% drop.<\/p>\n

The index has held steady since hitting a five-week high following the Bank of England\u2019s rate cut last week.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, BP stayed flat after announcing a $6 billion sale of its Castrol lubricants business to US firm Stonepeak, a major piece of its $20 billion divestment plan.<\/p>\n

Trading remained sluggish with many investors sitting out ahead of the holiday.<\/p>\n

The FTSE 250 managed a slight 0.07% gain. Over the full year, the FTSE 100 is up a solid 20.7%, outpacing the European STOXX 600 and the S&P 500\u2019s 16% gains.<\/p>\n

US-EU tech speech showdown<\/h2>\n


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The Trump administration slapped visa bans on former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton<\/a> and four European anti-disinformation campaigners, accusing them of pressuring American social media platforms into censorship.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the targets as \u201cradical activists\u201d working against free speech, but Paris shot back hard.<\/p>\n

French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot condemned the move as intimidation undermining European sovereignty, insisting the EU\u2019s Digital Services Act, which Breton championed, was democratically adopted and has no US reach.<\/p>\n

Breton himself called it a \u201cMcCarthy\u2019s witch hunt,\u201d noting the European Parliament voted 90% unanimously for the DSA.<\/p>\n

The crackdown reveals deepening transatlantic tensions over tech regulation, with the EU now promising to respond \u201cswiftly and decisively\u201d if Washington doesn\u2019t reverse course.<\/p>\n

France ramps up Ukraine push<\/h2>\n


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French President Emmanuel Macron spoke Wednesday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about Ukraine and the \u201cCoalition of the Willing,\u201d France\u2019s push to craft credible security guarantees for Kyiv.<\/p>\n

Macron pledged Paris will intensify these efforts starting in January from the French capital, insisting solid security assurances are essential to achieve \u201ca robust and lasting peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The timing matters: Ukraine just released a revised 20-point peace plan demanding EU membership and NATO Article 5-style security commitments, effectively NATO protection without formal membership.<\/p>\n

Macron\u2019s backing signals Europe won\u2019t let Washington dictate Ukraine\u2019s post-war future alone.<\/p>\n

With Germany ramping up defense spending and Rutte warning the security situation could deteriorate by 2027 if Europe doesn\u2019t act fast, Macron\u2019s January summit looks like Europe\u2019s attempt to lock in Ukraine\u2019s security before any ceasefire deal gets inked.<\/p>\n

Secure Trust boosts capital ratio<\/h2>\n


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Secure Trust Bank sealed a \u00a3458.6 million ($619 million) sale of its consumer vehicle finance arm to LCM Partners on Wednesday, marking an exit from a bleeding business.<\/p>\n

The lender had already stopped new lending in July, so this deal kills the unit outright.<\/p>\n

The sale price sits slightly above the portfolio\u2019s \u00a3442.5 million book value, generating a modest profit after costs.<\/p>\n

The real prize for shareholders: the disposal boosts Secure Trust\u2019s capital ratio by 195 basis points to 14.8%, freeing up capital for buybacks, something CEO Ian Corfield signaled the bank is \u201cconsidering\u201d pending regulatory approval.<\/p>\n

Secure Trust faced \u00a321 million in motor finance commission redress after the FCA tightened rules on hidden commissions, eating into already-thin margins.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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(Originally posted on : Invezz ) European markets drifted into the Christmas break as thin trading left the FTSE slightly lower, even as the index capped a standout year of outperformance. Politics, meanwhile, moved faster than markets: Washington\u2019s visa bans on EU tech figures sharpened a transatlantic clash over free speech and regulation, while Paris […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362395,"featured_media":65336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}