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☆ 5 killed after floods engulf southern Germany
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Billy Stockwell | Inke Kappeler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Five people have died and thousands were evacuated in southern Germany after heavy rainfall hit the region and caused vast floods, prompting warnings from senior officials that the climate crisis was set to worsen extreme weather in the country. After heavy rainfall, the German Armed Forces has sent 800 personnel to the region to help with rescue efforts. Record floods occur every few years … record rainfall every few years,” Habeck, of the Greens Party, told broadcaster n-tv. Deadly floods hit Western Europe in 2021, with at least 220 people killed between July 12 and 15, mostly in Germany. Other areas of Europe have also been affected by heavy rainfall in recent days.

Persons: Juergen Weiss, Thomas Niedermueller, Armin Weigel, Olaf Scholz, ” Scholz, Robert Habeck, ” Habeck, HINA, CNN’s Barbie Nadeau, Louis Mian Organizations: CNN, Bavarian firefighters, Authorities, German Armed Forces, Bavarian, Environmental Office, Economy, Greens Party, Firefighters, Sunday, RTV SLO Locations: Germany, Bavaria, Baden, Wuerttemberg, Regensburg, Rudersberg, Bavarian, Passau, Europe, Udine, Northeastern Italy, Slovenia, Gornja Radgona, Austrian, Zagorje county

☆ German authorities urge people to stay home amid deadly winter weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] People walk at the park after snowfall on the grounds of the Charlottenburg Castle in Berlin, Germany, November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Acquire Licensing RightsNov 28 (Reuters) - Authorities in western Germany on Tuesday urged residents to stay home, warning of life-threatening danger, after a burst of winter weather led to hazardous roads, leaving two people dead. The sudden onset of winter led to several accidents and people being trapped in their vehicles due to slippery roads and fallen branches caused by snowfall in many parts of Germany. In Rheingau-Taunus district in the west of Hesse, 100 people were evacuated from their vehicles near Eltville-Martinsthal, while 70 people were trapped on the road near Linienbad. The German Meteorological Service (DWD) forecasts snow and sleet again in many federal states today, adding that the weather will persist in the coming days.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, Amir Orusov, Miranda Murray Organizations: REUTERS, Schwaebisch, German Meteorological Service, Thomson Locations: Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany, Baden, Aalen, Denzerheide, Rhineland, Palatinate, Hesse, Eltville, Linienbad

☆ Data show inflation rising in some German states
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Inflation rose in four of six key German states in August, according to data released on Wednesday, casting doubt on a continuation of a national downward trend. The national data will be published at 1200 GMT. Data from Bavaria and Hesse showed that inflation eased modestly in those states to 5.9% and 6.0%, respectively. Bastian Hepperle, economist at Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe Privatbank, said inflation in Germany was still expected to slow despite the mixed picture. However, inflation remains well above the European Central Bank target of 2% and core inflation, excluding volatile prices like food and energy, has been stubbornly high.

Persons: Chandon, Annegret, Bastian Hepperle, Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe Privatbank, Price, Rachel More, René Wagner, Friederike Heine Our Organizations: Moet, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, North Rhine, Westphalia, Germany's, Baden, Wuerttemberg, Brandenburg, Saxony, Bavaria, Hesse, Europe's, Ukraine

"I am worried because we are in a deep real estate crisis. And the real estate crisis needs clear, structured and downright radical steps to fix it," Mattner said. For years, Germany's property market has been seen as a safe haven, becoming a major draw for foreign investors. Recent data shows the stress the property sector is facing as the European Central Bank hikes interest rates, with little respite in sight. The fall is "catastrophic," said Andreas Beulich, head of the Federal Association of Independent Real Estate and Housing Companies.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Andreas Mattner, Mattner, Tim, Oliver Mueller, Mueller, Scholz, Danyal, Andreas Beulich, Mathias Duesterdick, ”, Andreas Naujoks, Simone Zapke, Emma, Victoria Farr, Matthias Inverardi, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, German Property Federation, German Construction Industry Federation, Reuters Graphics, European Central Bank, Federal Association of Independent, Housing Companies, Centrum Group, ECB, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Germany's, Europe's, Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT, Baden, United States, Sweden

☆ Inflation up in German states, pointing to national rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 29 (Reuters) - Inflation rose in five economically important German states in the month of June, preliminary data showed on Thursday, suggesting a bumpy road ahead for German inflation. In May, inflation rates for those five states, out of 16 in Germany, stood at between 5.7% and 6.6%. National inflation data will be published at 1200 GMT, with economists surveyed by Reuters forecasting a 6.3% year-on-year rise, up from 6.1% in the previous month. June inflation data for the bloc is due on Friday. As a consequence, German inflation dipped in June 2022.

Persons: Maria Martinez, Balazs Koranyi, Friederike Heine, Toby Chopra Organizations: Reuters, European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, North, Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse, Baden, Wuerttemberg, Germany

BERLIN, May 31 (Reuters) - Inflation eased in five economically important German states in the month of May, preliminary data showed on Wednesday, suggesting that national price rises are set to slow to their lowest in more than a year. The inflation rate in North-Rhine Westphalia fell to 5.7%, while in Bavaria it slowed to 6.1%, in Brandenburg to 6.3%, in Hesse to 5.9% and in Baden-Wuerttemberg to 6.6%. In April, inflation rates for those five states, out of 16 in Germany, had been between 6.8% and 7.6%. National inflation data will be published at 1200 GMT, with economists surveyed by Reuters forecasting a 6.5% year-on-year rise. Furthermore, the base effects from high energy and food prices in May 2022 will disappear from the year-on-year comparison.

Persons: Luis de Guindos, Maria Martinez, Balazs Koranyi, Matthias Williams, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Reuters, European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse, Baden, Wuerttemberg, Germany, Dutch

☆ Vonovia to sell 1 bln eur stake in residential portfolio to Apollo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Vonovia (VNAn.DE) has agreed to sell a minority stake in its Suedewo residential portfolio to U.S. investor Apollo for 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion), Germany's largest real estate group said on Thursday. The transaction could have a signal effect on the struggling German real estate market, where hardly any major sales have occurred in recent months in the face of high interest rates and falling real estate prices. The transaction values the Suedewo portfolio in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg at 3.3 billion euros, which is a discount of less than 5% to Suedewo's fair value as of December 31, Vonovia said. With the proceeds, Vonovia will generate around half of the targeted 2 billion euros in free cash flow from asset sales. To secure access to capital amidst the property market crisis, the group earmarked properties worth 13 billion euros for sale in the summer.

[1/5] A general view shows the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant, as Germany shuts down its last nuclear power plants in Neckarwestheim, Germany, April 14, 2023. Following years of prevaricating, Germany pledged to quit nuclear power definitively after Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster sent radiation spewing into the air and terrifying the world. Germany's commercial nuclear sector began with the commissioning of the Kahl reactor in 1961: eagerly promoted by politicians but met with scepticism by companies. With the end of the atomic power era, Germany has to find a permanent repository for around 1,900 highly radioactive casks of nuclear waste by 2031. The government also acknowledges that safety issues remain given that neighbours France and Switzerland still depend heavily on nuclear power.

"It cannot be that financial institutions are doing well because they treat their customers badly," Chan-Jae Yoo, a BaFin official, said in an interview. Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, an umbrella organisation that lobbies for German finance, said German banks are "extremely stable and robust" and confidence remains "high" and "unaffected" by recent turmoil stemming from the collapse of lenders in the United States and Switzerland. "The mere fact that consumers are increasingly asking us and seeking our advice is proof enough that they do not fully trust financial institutions," he said. Protections and rights for customers of financial institutions have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and the German courts. "We want services to establish themselves in the marketplace that meet consumer needs, not feed the financial industry," he said.

☆ German inflation expected to ease significantly in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - Inflation is expected to ease significantly in Germany in March on the back of lower energy prices, preliminary data from six economically key states in the country showed on Thursday. The inflation rate in Brandenburg and Baden-Wuerttemberg fell to 7.8% year-on-year. In February, inflation rates for the six states had been between 8.3% and 9.2%. "It will directly raise inflation as local authorities will have to hike rubbish administrative fees and health insurers raise contribution rates to pay for the higher costs." While headline inflation slackens, core inflation - excluding energy and food - is expected to remain high.

China currently dominates the supply chain for many of the entries on Europe's list of "strategic" metals. By which time not more than 65% of any strategic metal's consumption will be able to come from a single third country. Europe has no strategic metal inventory, unlike the United States, China and South Korea. Given such a humble starting point, it seems unlikely EU strategic metal reserves are going to come any time soon, if they come at all. What started as a response to China's dominance of critical metals supply has been accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Shares in EnBW rose 5.5% after the news to end the day at their highest level in five weeks. The savings banks in Baden-Wuerttemberg, where EnBW is based, are part of the final bidding round, their president Peter Schneider said last week. KfW, EnBW and CIP declined to comment. EnBW Chief Financial Officer Thomas Kusterer in November said EnBW hoped to conclude the sales process in early 2023. ($1 = 0.9297 euros)Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Markus Wacket Editing by Miranda Murray and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The FBI revealed on Thursday it had secretly hacked and disrupted a prolific ransomware gang called Hive, a maneuver that allowed the bureau to thwart the group from collecting more than $130 million in ransomware demands from more than 300 victims. They were then able to alert victims in advance so they could take steps to protect their systems before Hive demanded the payments. In that case, the Justice Department seized some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom after the company had already paid the hackers. The Justice Department said that over the years, Hive has targeted more than 1,500 victims in 80 different countries, and has collected more than $100 million in ransomware payments. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI's operation helped a wide range of victims, including a Texas school district.

☆ Germany arrests 25 suspected of far-right plot to overthrow state
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Numerous officers were deployed in several federal states, said a spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe-based authority . German authorities on Wednesday detained 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that the prosecutor's office said were preparing a violent overthrow of the state, with some members suspected of plotting an armed attack on the parliament. Prosecutors said the raids were conducted by more than 3,000 police officials and security forces across 11 German federal states. Suspects were arrested in the German states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Thuringia as well as in Austria and Italy, said the office. The group's ideology is in the same vein as the far-right Reichsbuerger movement and QAnon conspiracy theorists who share the deep conviction that Germany is ruled by a "Deep State", the office.

[1/2] The headquarters of Wirecard AG in Aschheim near Munich, Germany, September 22, 2020. REUTERS/Michael DalderMUNICH/BERLIN, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Former Wirecard executives go on trial on Thursday, two years after the collapse of the payments company that produced Germany's biggest post-war fraud scandal and sent shockwaves through the country's political and financial establishment. Wirecard, which started out processing payments for pornography and online gambling, rose to be worth $28 billion and displaced Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) in Germany's DAX blue-chip index. But in June 2020, Wirecard was forced to admit that 1.9 billion euros were missing from its balance sheet. In the ructions that followed Wirecard's demise, the head of German financial regulator BaFin resigned and the head of Germany's accounting watchdog also stepped down.

☆ German inflation in key states eases in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - German inflation dipped in five states in November, data showed on Tuesday, suggesting cost pressures eased in Europe's largest economy - a welcome development for the European Central Bank but unlikely to weaken its resolve to tame prices. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, annual inflation slowed this month to 10.4% from 11.0% in October. Inflation also eased slightly in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg and Hesse. Her comments, along with remarks by Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot earlier, were likely to dampen speculation that the European Central Bank was about to take a gentler path with future rate increases. A Reuters poll of economists pointed to national inflation, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, easing to 11.3% in November from 11.6% in October.

☆ German upper house blocks landmark welfare reform
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] German Labour and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil speaks at an extraordinary session, as Members of German upper House of Parliament or Bundesrat vote on Buergergeld or "citizens' money" welfare reform law, in the plenary hall, in Berlin, Germany November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Michele TantussiBERLIN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Germany's conservative opposition held up a major welfare reform on Monday, setting the scene for a mediation process to find a compromise that could still allow the introduction of ambitious measures to support the unemployed in gaining vocational skills. The welfare reform would introduce Buergergeld, or "citizens' money", to replace the Hartz IV system brought in from 2005, which sanctions people who reject job offers. "Our welfare state can only function if there are duties as well as rights," Baden-Wuerttemberg labour minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut of the opposition conservative CDU party said. German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said the ruling coalition -- of his Social Democrat (SPD) party with the Greens and the liberal FDP -- would call on a mediation committee later on Monday.

☆ Deutsche Bank's DWS sued by consumer group over alleged greenwashing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A German consumer group said on Monday it is suing Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) asset management unit DWS (DWSG.DE) for allegedly misrepresenting a fund's green credentials in marketing materials. DWS, which has repeatedly denied it misled investors, rejects the allegations by the consumer group, which represents consumers in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The group said it filed a suit against DWS on Sept. 26 in a Frankfurt court, which has set a hearing for March 10. The lawsuit against DWS is one of several filed by the consumer group against financial firms for allegedly overstating their green credentials. Asoka Woehrmann resigned as chief executive of DWS in June after German prosecutors raided the offices of DWS and Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt over allegations of greenwashing and misleading investments.

☆ Surge in cases of RSV, a virus that can severely sicken infants, is filling hospital beds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Aria Bendix | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

He tested positive for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, a common virus that causes lung infections. Aesop was moved to a pediatric ICU on Tuesday after his heart and breathing rates soared. Many RSV patients in Massachusetts are being transferred to nearby states, she added. At Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, hospital and ICU beds have been full for over a month. He said the volume of RSV patients is "two to three times what we've ever experienced."

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