Foreign investment continues flowing into Turkey’s financial system, and consumer banking and financing of small and medium-sized enterprises are becoming major business lines for the country’s commercial banks. Metin Demirsar reports from Istanbul.

Early general elections are planned to calm a political crisis and the economy is beginning to cool off, adding to concerns that progress made in recent years could unravel. Metin Demirsar reports from Istanbul.

A consortium including Goldman Sachs won the mandate for a strategic review and IPO execution for Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank. A tight schedule for US distribution and a political/religious row that spilled volatility into the Istanbul stock market failed to derail the sale. Edward Russell-Walling reports.

Smoking in enclosed public spaces, including offices, is about to be made a criminal offence in England. The move is welcomed in many quarters, but employers whose employees break the law will be liable to pay much heftier fines than the errant employees themselves, writes Michael Imeson.

With or without a radical change of approach by the new president, France’s markets are surprisingly open to overseas companies.Geraldine Lambe reports.

Following the French elections, the markets are returning to normal, with plenty of activity predicted, especially in state-involved sectors. Geraldine Lambe reports on how the pace is picking up.

It is high time France was given some credit for operating an economy that is more open than most to foreign companies.

The hands-off approach of Italy’s central bank boss Mario Draghi seems to be paying off as the country is starting to produce continental-scale banks. David Lane reports.

As Portugal takes over the EU presidency, the country’s president, Professor Aníbal Cavaco Silva, stresses the need, among other things, for Europe to assert itself as an effective and influential global performer.

Recent stock market falls in the construction sector are making Spain’s seemingly invincible property market look vulnerable, with all that entails for an economy that is highly dependant on it. Neil Tyler explains.