European stock markets witnessed a mixed closing on Tuesday as the Stoxx Europe 600 experienced a slight decline of 0.08%. In contrast, Germany's DAX 40 recorded a positive rise of 0.64%, while the FTSE 100 in London fell by 0.28%. France's CAC 40 gained 0.2%, and the Swiss Market Index edged up by 0.01%.
Adding to the ongoing economic landscape, the European Commission has issued a report that accuses China of unfairly discriminating against EU medical devices in its public procurement market. This report delivers what has been described as "clear evidence" of China's restrictive measures that limit access for EU medical device producers to secure government contracts in a discriminatory manner. In a significant announcement, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez proposed an ambitious tax plan, suggesting a 100% tax on properties acquired by buyers from outside the EU.
"The West faces a decisive challenge if it wants to avoid becoming a society divided into two classes: rich landlords and poor tenants," Sanchez articulated in his statement. In terms of corporate developments, investigations conducted by the European Commission into major players such as Apple, Meta, and Alphabet are undergoing reevaluation under the Digital Markets Act.
This review could potentially lead to modifications in the scope or extent of these ongoing investigations, according to reports from the Financial Times, which cited EU officials. Simultaneously, Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is currently under investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.
This inquiry aims to ascertain whether Google possesses a strategic market status concerning its search and search advertising operations. In the realm of biotechnology, Grifols, a Spanish biopharmaceutical firm, has secured a substantial grant of $21 million from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
This funding is aimed at the identification of biomarkers that may help in predicting the likelihood of Parkinson's disease ahead of clinical diagnoses. In corporate leadership news, French online advertising company Criteo has appointed Michael Komasinski as its new chief executive officer and a member of the board, effective from February 15.
He is set to succeed outgoing CEO Megan Clarken, who is retiring from her position..