Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank cease merger, tax cuts but more work for the French, and more top news

The news professionals in Europe are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation on today's stories in the comments.

German banking behemoths Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have abruptly halted their merger talks, The Wall Street Journal reports. The crosstown rivals were encouraged to merge by the German government in the hope their union would "shore up both banks and create a domestic banking powerhouse," following years of poor performances. Yet a Thursday meeting between bank leaders finalised the decision after Deutsche lost enthusiasm for the deal, unsettled by "the costs and intricacies" of the merger and the battle to convince shareholders of the deal's merits. • Here’s what people are saying.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced widespread tax cuts for middle class earners, but says French people need to “work more”. The €5 billion cuts will be financed by eliminating corporate tax breaks, working longer hours and reductions in public spending. Macron also said French citizens will need to contribute longer to the pensions system before retiring. He also promised higher education for adults to improve their employability. Macron’s announcement is in response to the six-month-long ‘Yellow Vest’ protests over social inequality. • Here’s what people are saying.

Denmark has introduced a new recruitment code to ensure one-third of candidates for top jobs are women to address a lack of corporate gender diversity. The ‘codex’, announced by the Minister for Gender Equality Eva Kjer Hansen, includes eight principles which recruitment firms are obliged to adhere to when they sign up. Ministry figures reveal just under 15% of directors and 19% of board members at Danish companies are women, and more than half of all companies have no women on their boards. • Here’s what people are saying.

The $1 trillion club of publicly traded companies just landed a third member. Microsoft, LinkedIn’s parent company, reached the club temporarily Thursday when shares of the company’s stock traded above the $130.50 mark, surging to as high as $131.37. Based on the company’s 7.663 billion outstanding shares, Microsoft had a $1 trillion valuation. The previous two companies to reach $1 trillion valuations were Apple and Amazon, both of which reached the figure last year before dipping below the figure as technology stocks dropped. • Here’s what people are saying.

Virgin Trains wants to run more like flights, proposing to end standing on long-distance trips and instead sell assigned seats for specific trains. Virgin also seeks to end peak and off-peak pricing tiers and wants operators to bid for departure slots rather than franchises in plans submitted for a government-commissioned review. The transport watchdog says passengers should be allowed to stand given the demand during busy times, while Virgin says its plans would reduce overcrowding and complex ticketing. • Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: How can we best prepare ourselves for technological change? Keep learning, says Siemens USA chief Barbara Humpton.

“Lifelong learning needs to be an accepted reality of life today. At this rate of technological transformation, no one can rely on our education systems to teach them everything they’ll need to know throughout their careers.”