VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Euro zone economic sentiment was unchanged in December against the previous two months, data showed on Thursday, as a more upbeat end-of-year mood in the services and retail sectors and among consumers was offset by a gloomier industry.

The European Central Bank has told Austria's Volksbanken group to strengthen its balance sheet by next July as it rushes to wind down its flagship unit and plug a capital hole exposed by this year's health checks on euro zone banks.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said the European Commission's decision to give France longer to prove it is serious about economic reform and fixing its excessive public deficit risks damaging the credibility of the bloc's budget rules.

Tax deals that entertainment firm Walt Disney Co, commodities group Koch Industries and others agreed with the Luxembourg authorities were revealed on Tuesday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The European Commission should be able to veto national budgets if they breach the European Union's common fiscal rules, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday.

When EU politicians call for the break-up of Google, it can sound like sour grapes, the anti-American backlash of an aging Europe envious, and fearful, of the wealth and growing power of young U.S. tech giants.

The European Parliament is preparing a non-binding resolution that proposes splitting Google Inc's (GOOGL.O) search engine operations in Europe from the rest of its business as one possible option to rein in the Internet company’s dominance in the search market.

In its autumn forecasts European commission has revised down the growth forecasts for European Union and euro area. The report said, “Annual GDP growth in the EU this year is now projected to be 1.3%, while growth in the euro area is expected to be 0.8%.”

The European Commission provisionally accepted the budgets of France and Italy, saying on Tuesday that no euro zone states had submitted deficit plans for next year that seriously breached EU rules for fiscal stability.

About 100,000 Hungarians rallied on Tuesday night to protest at a planned tax on data traffic and the broader course of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government they saw as undermining democracy and relations with European Union peers.

France and Italy will keep pressure on Germany this week to use government money to revive the euro zone's stagnating economy but in a sign of inertia, a promised list of projects to create growth will not be ready until December.

Lafarge (LAFP.PA) and Holcim (HOLN.VX) are about to request approval from the European Commission for their planned merger, Lafarge Chief Executive Bruno Lafont told reporters on Thursday.

Party politics seems set to trump concerns about the competence and suitability of several candidates for the European Commission when lawmakers pass judgment on Jean-Claude Juncker's most controversial nominees this week.

The Russia-led South Stream undersea gas pipeline is still going ahead, Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying on Saturday, following concerns the European Union might be losing enthusiasm for the project.

The European Commission will accuse Apple Inc (AAPL.O) of benefiting from illicit state aid in Ireland, based on preliminary findings of an investigation into tax deals, the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.