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A new business lobby group, the Business Council has been launched by the British Chambers of Commerce in a bid to ‘design and drive’ the future of the UK economy, with BP among its founding members. The group comes as the troubled Confederate of British Industry faces a crunch vote on its future following serious allegations. The new group aims to pick up the support of businesses which have already cut ties with CBI, with BMW and John Lewis among the names.

Eurozone inflation fell to 6.1% in the year to April, more than the expected 6.3%. Notably, core inflation, which is closely monitored by the ECB, fell to 5.3% from 5.6%. Markets were little moved after the announcement, with notable changes being European stocks trading slightly higher on the day, with the Euro higher against the U.S dollar and British pound. Investors, however, still see the ECB carrying on with two more rate hikes in its upcoming meetings.

In its May Financial Stability Review published on Wednesday, the ECB said the region’s stability outlook remained fragile following the recent turmoil in financials, which saw the failure of several US banks, and the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse. ECB Vice-President Guindos said the risk remained that markets could face “disorderly adjustments”, in an environment of tighter financial conditions and lower market liquidity.