European stocks are near record highs again, seemingly shaking off tense trade talks and currency headwinds, while volatility has evaporated, giving rise to four key themes that investors are playing as they wait for the next major catalyst.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has welcomed the agreement reached in the customs dispute between the European Union and the US. "With the agreement, we have succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard,

Among the headline winners from the tariff deal between the U.S. and the European Union was the bloc's prized auto industry. Cars are among the products subject to a new baseline EU

Explore What if the Central Powers had won World War I? In this alternate history exploration, we dive into a world where Germany emerges victorious, redrawing the map of Europe and reshaping global power.

MFE-MediaForEurope (MFE) , the TV group controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, on Monday improved its cash-and-share offer for German peer ProSiebenSat.1 as it pursues plans to build an advertising-funded pan-European broadcaster.

Previous German aid-dropping operations in the territory may give a glimpse of what to expect, according to a defense spokesman in Berlin.

In very concrete terms, Germany is demonstrating leadership of Europe and the larger Atlantic area alliance in creating the path to greater defense spending.

Germany plans to more than double its defense outlays — including Ukraine aid — to as much as €162 billion ($189 billion) over the next four years as part of an investment push to rebuild its neglected military in response to mounting Russian aggression in Europe.