Construction work was knocked further back, reporting a drop of 0.8% in the eurozone in December compared to the previous month.

Compared to December 2013, there was worse news for the building trade as output was down by 3.5%.

Eurostar enjoyed a boost in business travel and general passengers, bringing the total number of its passengers to more than 150 million since the first service began in 1994.

Last year it carried 10.4 million.

Thinking about relocating? What about the sub-tropical tiny Pacific island of Pitcairn?

In recent years, the island’s population has dwindled to just 50, prompting the search for potential new residents.

Swiss prosecutors have raided the offices of HSBC Suisse in Geneva in an inquiry into money-laundering and tax evasion.

Swiss police sources commented that they are investigating "persons unknown for suspected aggravated money laundering" at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) which has been headline material since last week, especially in Portugal as details of Swiss bank account holders were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists after computer files were stolen by an HSBC employee.

The Bank of Portugal has been accused by Goldman Sachs of violating the basic principles of the rule of law, over its decision to leave the €835 million Goldman’s Oak Finance invested in BES, in BES.

Goldman Sachs, the vampire squid of legend, has promised to engage all legal means to challenge the decision of the Bank of Portugal to put Oak Finance's BES investment into the BES ‘bad bank.’

Spain’s CaixaBank has launched a takeover bid for Banco Português de Investimento (BPI) at €1.329 a share.

CaixaBank has launched the tender offer for Portugal’s high street lender, led by Fernando Ulrich, at a price that represents a 27% premium to Monday’s close.

The dumping of plastic at sea has increased so critically that scientists say that now more is dumped every year than was even produced annually in the 1960s.

Each foot of the world’s coastlines now has on average the equivalent of five plastic shopping bags which themselves are full of more plastic, according to scientists.

Wild boars in Italy are proving to be a growing menace as they have taken to colonising towns and cities.

The animals have been seen around the outskirts of Rome, Genoa and Naples as well as other cities, feeding on refuse and rubbish bins along with destroying gardens in their search.