The European Commission finalized a major expansion of the European Union’s flagship orbital communications network on Friday, concluding months of commercial negotiations with the SpaceRISE industrial consortium. Under a newly signed implementation agreement, the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) program transitions from planning into full-scale industrial deployment. The formal agreement expands the planned satellite network to 348 spacecraft to strengthen sovereign connectivity, defense, and emergency response capabilities across member states.

In June, South Korea recorded a historic $49.73 billion current account surplus, driven largely by a notable surge in semiconductor exports. The Bank of Korea reported that this figure surpassed the previous monthly high of $38.61 billion set in May. June marked the first occasion when the monthly surplus exceeded $40 billion. The main driver behind this increase was robust goods exports, as technology shipments expanded at a much faster pace than imports.

In July, Eurozone factory output expanded at its fastest rate in nearly four and a half years, even as new demand continued to be weak. The S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index increased to 51.9 from 51.4 in June. This marked its highest reading since April and kept the index above the 50 threshold indicating expansion. The final figure was slightly below an earlier estimate of 52.0. Manufacturing conditions improved at the beginning of the third quarter.

The European Union has introduced the Scaleup Europe Fund, with a goal to raise €5 billion for key technology firms. The European Commission finalized the legal steps for the fund on August 4, integrating it into the European Innovation Council Fund. EQT is now tasked with managing the fund and has the authority to make independent investments on market terms. The Commission anticipates initial investments in the upcoming weeks, with ongoing efforts to raise additional capital toward the €5 billion target.

OECD inflation eased to 4.2% in June as energy price growth slowed across member economies. A significant portion of the monthly slowdown stemmed from falling energy prices. The OECD energy inflation rate dropped four percentage points to 11.7% year-on-year, after reaching 15.8% in May. Data shows that the rate declined in 24 of the 37 countries with available information. Still, energy inflation increased in 10 nations, while six countries continued to report rates exceeding 15%. This widespread decrease contributed to the overall decline in headline inflation, although energy remains a major driver of annual price growth. Food inflation also eased in June, decreasing by 0.2 percentage points to 3.4%. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, fell by the same margin to 3.6%. These figures indicate that price growth slowed beyond energy, yet both measures stay above the 2% threshold used by many central banks.

The UK economy remains out of recession, yet new projections highlight mounting pressure from global energy disruptions. EY increased its growth forecast for 2026 to 0.9%, up from 0.8% in May, while maintaining its 2027 estimate at 1.2%. This forecast assumes the Strait of Hormuz reopens by September with relatively low tanker traffic. EY’s pessimistic scenario predicts 0.5% growth for this year and a 0.2% contraction in 2027.UK economic growth continues as inflation, hiring and investment pressures remain.Official data indicate that gross domestic product expanded by 0.6% in the first quarter, following a 0.1% growth in late 2025. The GDP was 0.9% higher than the same period last year. The services sector contributed most to quarterly growth with an increase of 0.8%, while household consumption grew by 0.6%. As two consecutive quarterly declines are necessary to declare a technical recession, current official figures do not meet that criterion.