Vodafone took a €4.5 billion hit on its operations in Germany and Romania, but Vodafone fell into the red, but it is expected to return to its largest market, Germany's top-notch growth.

The mobile phone giant lost 1.5 billion euros before tax as of March 31, compared with a profit of 1.6 billion euros in the previous year. It paid 4.4 billion euros in damages allegations in its troubled German division and 165 million euros in Romania operations. Revenue rose 2% to €37.5 billion.

CEO Margherita Della Valle But it's optimistic.

We have reshaped Europe and we have seen the positive impact of our driving force for customer satisfaction in all markets – most notably in the UK and Germany – we offer strong operational improvements throughout the enterprise. Obviously, there is still a lot to be done, but this transition period has repositioned Vodafone's years of growth.

Looking ahead, we hope to see broad-based momentum throughout Europe and Africa and hope that Germany will return to the frontline growth this year. This is reflected in our guide to growth in profit and cash flows for the coming year.

Good morning, welcome to our coverage of business, financial markets and the world economy.

Both China and Australia's central banks have lowered interest rates to stimulate their economies and buffer the impact of U.S. trade tariffs.

China has lowered its benchmark loan ratio for the first time since October after taking huge currency easing measures in Beijing. The People's Bank of China lowered the one-year loan quality interest rate by 10 basis points to 3.0%, and the five-year loan advantage rate by 3.5%.

It announced a reduction in loan interest rates after China's largest state-owned bank cut its deposit rates. Industrial Bank of ChinaAgricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China Reduced its deposit rate by 5-25bps.

Global investment banks have forecasts for China's economic growth this year, despite continued uncertainty in trade talks after Beijing and Washington agreed to a 90-day pause on tariffs.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Xinhua News Agency official reports called for continuous efforts to build a stronger manufacturing industry. Xi Jinping stressed that when he visited a bearing manufacturer in Henan Province in central China, the country needed to be self-reliant and mastered key technologies.

Marco SunMUFG Bank's chief financial market analyst said the slowdown is aimed at boosting credit loans and stimulating consumption.

Unless external geopolitical risks worsen to eliminate hope that the economy can stabilize, central banks are likely to transform into an observational approach in the coming months.

Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges rose 0.4% and 0.8% while Australian stocks rose 0.6%, with Japan's Nickelode stock barely changing.

Reserve Bank of Australia cuts cash rates by 25bps at its May meeting to a two-year low of 3.85%first-class cuts since January. The Australian dollar fell after the announcement of the decision. The central bank said:

Inflation is within the target range and the rising risk appears to be reduced as international developments are expected to have an economic impact.

The board of directors evaluated that this move would make monetary policy less restrictive. However, this remains cautious on the prospects.

Greggs, the UK’s largest bakery chain, said sales growth has increased over the past five months as its newly launched Mac and cheese are all the rage on Tiktok.

The company, known for its sausage rolls and vegan alternatives, said similar to sales (opening at the point of sale for at least one year) grew 2.9% in the first 20 weeks of 2025. In the first 9 weeks, sales disappointed 1.9% of sales, the worst performance since Pandemic, because it was one of the worst performances.

After the initial trial last year, its order range is now available in over 300 stores nationwide, including chicken burgers, packages and fish finger sandwiches.

Greggs has opened 66 new stores, meaning it has 2,638 stores as it aims to open up to 150 stores in the year.

Agenda