Paris / Bloomberg Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was charged with illegal campaign financing in relation to his 2012 re-election bid, meaning he is now facing two possible trials in court as he contemplates an attempt to return to office. An investigative judge decided to charge the former French president for exceeding the legal limit for election expenses after questioning …

London / Bloomberg Britain’s unemployment rate remains at its lowest level in a decade, official data showed on Wednesday. Unemployment stood at 5.1 percent in the three months to December, unchanged from the three months to November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That was the lowest rate, or proportion of the workforce that are unemployed, since October 2005. …

LISBON / Bloomberg Portugal just can’t shake off its bears. The nation’s bonds are underperforming their counterparts across the euro area even as a recovery in stocks and oil prices boosted demand for higher-yielding assets. The extra yield, or spread, that investors get for holding Portuguese 10-year bonds instead of the benchmark German bund climbed for the first time in …