Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) French President Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister this morning via a statement, his office said on Thursday evening.

(2) Klarna Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Siemiatkowski said his company was able to stop hiring a year ago as it invested in artificial intelligence that’s doing the work of hundreds of staff across the firm.

(3) European Central Bank policymakers expect to cut interest rates by another quarter point in January and probably also in March as inflation stabilizes at the 2% target and economic growth remains sluggish, according to officials familiar with their thinking.

(4) UK consumer confidence remained subdued in December with households reluctant to splash out on big-ticket items ahead of Christmas amid ongoing economic uncertainty, a survey found.

(5) Russia is nearing an agreement with Syria’s new leadership to keep two vital military bases in the Middle East state, a key objective of the Kremlin after the fall of its ally Bashar al-Assad.