Football leagues score big, Apple and Google oppose UK 'spy' plan, 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.

The big five European football leagues have kicked a winning financial goal by generating a record €15.6bn (￡13.8bn) in revenue in 2017-18. It’s a 6% annual increase from clubs in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, according to new figures from Deloitte, which means the European football market is now worth €28.4bn (￡25.1bn). The English Premier League led the way with record revenues of ￡4.8bn, then Germany's Bundesliga with Spain's La Liga third. The profits have been posted despite increased spending on player wages which reduced operating profits by 16% to ￡867m. ? Here’s what people are saying

Switzerland has been ranked as the fourth most competitive economy, a step up from fifth in last year’s rankings. Singapore topped the list in the 2019 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, pinching first place from the US. It dropped to third after confidence in President Trump’s economic policies fade, according to the ranking from the stand-alone Swiss business school IMD. Hong Kong took second placing with other European nations in the top 10: Netherlands (6), Ireland (7), Denmark (8) and Sweden (9). ? Here’s what people are saying

A so-called ‘ghost protocol’ plan to eavesdrop on encrypted messages has been slammed in an open letter by 47 signatories including Apple, Google and WhatsApp. A proposal by UK cybersecurity agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) requires encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp to direct a message to a third recipient as well as to its intended user. Opponents see the move, an attempt to assist law enforcement, as a “serious threat” to digital security and fundamental human rights. In 2015/16 Apple publicly took a stand over data privacy with the FBI. ? Here’s what people are saying

The European aviation industry is about to become a little more male-dominated following the resignation of Flybe CEO Christine Ourmieres-Widener. She will depart the troubled UK-based airline, which competes for passengers with Europe’s budget giants, easyJet and Ryanair on July 15. Its fleet has been shrinking to restore profits after several losses and will be taken over by Connect Airways – a consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Air and a US investor – in July. Ourmieres-Widener said the sale was able to “secure the jobs of our loyal Flybe employees”. Leadership in the industry is almost exclusively male worldwide. ? Here’s what people are saying

A Russian company is offering female employees cash bonuses to wear dresses or skirts to work in a "femininity marathon" campaign. Female staff at aluminium manufacturer Tatprof who wear a dress or skirt "no longer than five centimetres from the knee" are paid 100 roubles ($1.50, ￡1.19) – but must send a picture to be paid. A spokesperson said CEO Sergei Rachkov was concerned about “mixing gender roles” and initiated the scheme in the hope it would allow “female workers to feel their femininity and charm” in a dress. ? Here’s what people are saying

Idea of the Day: Running a business is not as simple as choosing complexity versus simplicity, says Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani.

“You really cannot choose one over the other: It’s about how to deftly weave together a combination of both.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

—  Cathy Anderson and Andrea Beattie