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☆ Russia's Putin tells Germany's Scholz that Western line on Ukraine is 'destructive' - Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a phone call on Friday that the German and Western line on Ukraine was "destructive" and urged Berlin to rethink its approach, the Kremlin said. "Attention was drawn to the destructive line of Western states, including Germany, which are pumping the Kyiv regime with weapons and training the Ukrainian military," the Kremlin said. Kyiv says peace talks are possible only if Russia stops attacking Ukrainian territory and withdraws its troops from Ukrainian soil. Putin "called on the German side to reconsider its approaches in the context of the Ukrainian events", the Kremlin added. It said Putin defended Russia's missile strikes on targets in Ukraine as a forced response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure, including a key bridge between Russia and Crimea.

CNN —Football pundits on Qatar’s Alkass Sports channel mocked the German football team following its World Cup exit – by mimicking the players’ protest over human rights. Soon after, El-Hadary and other pundits then cover their mouths and wave goodbye – apparently in celebration of Germany’s exit. Football pundits on Qatar's Alkass Sports channel appear to mimic the German players' protest gesture. Twitter/@alkasschannelThe gesture mimics what the German players did to protest against FIFA’s decision to ban the “OneLove” armband that many European captains had been hoping to wear in Qatar in support of LGBTQ rights. Following Germany’s 1:1 draw against Spain last Sunday, Jassem said in an al-Majlis episode that he was “shocked” at Germany’s protest.

☆ Germany knocked out of World Cup after extraordinary finale to Group E
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Germany was knocked out of the 2022 World Cup on Thursday after a quite extraordinary finale to Group E, despite beating Costa Rica. As he did in the famous victory over Germany, Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu used his substitutes masterfully, bringing on Dōan and his left-footed strike brought Japan level. Wataru Endo celebrates with teammates after Japan qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup. Costa Rica took a stunning lead as Juan Pablo Vargas prodded home after an frantic goalmouth scramble to leave Germany trailing. With just over 20 minutes remaining in the two games, Spain and Germany – both recent World Cup winners – were in danger of going home.

☆ ECB warns of losses as it pays price for decade of money printing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

This might eventually force some of these central banks to seek a bailout that would raise questions about their independence and raise the ire of taxpayers. On top of depleting its provisions, it might tap any income that national central banks make on their monetary policy operations - such as bonds and loans. Central banks can generally function even if they make losses that deplete all of their capital - as has happened in recent decades in a number of countries including Germany. "It is important to remember that central banks are not like ordinary companies: they can lose money and still operate effectively," the ECB said. "Still, the principle of financial independence implies that national central banks should ultimately always be sufficiently capitalised."

☆ Germany looks to bounce back from shock defeat and revive World Cup hopes against dangerous Spain
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Finishing bottom of the group at Russia 2018, a tournament Germany went into as defending champion, was a historic low for the four-time World Cup winner. But after that shock 2-1 defeat to Japan in its opening match, it is once again a distinct possibility. That result means the match against Spain is do or die for Germany, as a defeat would confirm an early flight home from Qatar. World Cup team camps have traditionally been somewhat strict, private affairs, but Spain head coach Luis Enrique has been taking an unconventional approach to passing the time behind closed doors. In Group E’s other match, Japan knows victory over Costa Rica will guarantee its place in the knockout stages.

☆ Germany's Scholz 'surprised' by companies' China dependence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 25 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the number of German companies that have ignored the risks of depending too heavily on the Chinese market was remarkable and stressed the need for diversification, in an interview with Focus magazine on Friday. "The importance of the Chinese market needs no explanation," he said, but the goal is not to be dependent on any one market. "I am therefore surprised at how dependent some companies have made themselves on individual markets and have completely ignored the risks," Scholz told the magazine. In early November, Scholz became the first Group of Seven (G7) leader to visit China since the COVID-19 pandemic, where he bluntly complained about access to the Chinese market. He has tried to balance securing a level playing field for European companies with shedding Germany's heavy reliance on the Chinese market.

☆ Angela Merkel says she was powerless to stop Putin invading Ukraine because he knew she was about to leave office
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Angela Merkel said that she was too politically weak to stand up to Putin at their last meeting. "For Putin, only power counts," she told German outlet Der Spiegel. "The feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you are through,'" she told the magazine. In Moscow, she said, "The feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you are through.'" US intelligence and independent experts increasingly suggested that Putin was looking for an excuse to invade.

☆ Euro zone bailout fund to get new head from Luxembourg
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN/BRUSSELS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Luxembourg's former finance minister Pierre Gramegna is likely to take over the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), succeeding Germany's Klaus Regling who retired last month, a senior euro zone official said. The ESM was created in 2012, during the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, to lend to euro zone governments cut off from markets. It has a 500 billion euro ($520 billion) war chest and can also lend to recapitalise banks and provide precautionary credit. Italy and France, who earlier either opposed or did not support the Luxembourger, had changed their views, the official said. ($1 = 0.9616 euros)Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Jan Strupczewski; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We are talking with our allies about how to handle Poland's ... suggestion," a German government spokesperson told reporters in Berlin. Berlin offered Warsaw the Patriot system to help secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed and killed two people in Poland last week. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak later asked Germany to send the fire units to Ukraine instead. Stoltenberg's comments came after German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht on Thursday said sharing Germany's Patriot units outside NATO territory would require prior discussions with NATO and the allies. Duda later said that Germany could send the Patriot units to Ukraine without NATO troops to operate them, something he says Kyiv has been asking for for a while.

☆ Ukraine War Spurs Arms Makers to Boost Production
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Benjamin Katz | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rheinmetall, one of Europe’s biggest weapons and munitions makers, displayed its wares at an exhibition in Paris earlier this year. The world’s biggest arms makers are scaling up production of rocket launchers, tanks and ammunition as the industry shifts to meet what executives expect to be sustained demand triggered by the war in Ukraine. The ramp-up is playing out in large measure in Europe, where a handful of long-established arms makers have grown accustomed to more modest, peacetime demand for their wares and are now trying to increase capacity to meet an expected crush of orders. Shares of many of these lesser-known international arms players, including Germany’s Rheinmetall AG and Sweden’s Saab AB, have soared on hopes of big orders.

☆ Germany's Merkel says didn't have political strength for pre-invasion Ukraine talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"But I no longer had the strength to push through because, after all, everyone knew: she's leaving in autumn," she said. Merkel, who retired from politics after 16 years in power following Germany's September 2021 election, officially handed over the reins to Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats in December that year. Referring to her farewell visit to Moscow in August 2021, Merkel, who speaks fluent Russian, told Spiegel: "The feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you're through.' It says the conflict will only end when Moscow withdraws its forces from all of Ukraine, including areas it has occupied since 2014. Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ World Cup 2022 - Germany 1-2 Japan: Late Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano goals earn shock victory
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Charlotte Marsh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Japan celebrates during a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match against Germany at Khalifa International Stadium on Nov. 23, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. Marc Atkins | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesEach Japan goal was greeted with a team bundle at the corner flag, and there were joyous celebrations at full-time. For Germany, their poor World Cup form continues, having finished bottom of their group at the 2018 tournament. After having two earlier efforts blocked, Gundogan stepped up and expertly dispatched his spot-kick to see the four-time World Cup winners in front. We made mistakes that we should never commit especially in a World Cup and those are the things that we need to improve on."

It was a game that produced another World Cup shock as Japan came from behind to win 2-1. “We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect,” the DFB said. Germany captain Manuel Neuer also did not wear the armband on Wednesday. Before the game, Faeser had criticized FIFA, slamming the threat of sanctions for wearing the armband. “In today’s times it is incomprehensible that FIFA does not want people to openly stand for tolerance and against discrimination.

☆ Germany must trade with China warily, economy minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Nov 23 (Reuters) - No one is suggesting Germany should stop trading with China, but Beijing's investments in critical sectors must be examined closely, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Wednesday. "Nothing speaks against continuing to maintain economic relations with China," Habeck said at a conference organised by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in Berlin. "That means in the critical sectors of our economy, we have to judge and prohibit the strategic influence of critical investments," Habeck said. Germany is seeking to reduce its dependence on Beijing and is developing a new China strategy, but it could be a tricky task with deep trade ties between Europe's and Asia's biggest economies. From a European point of view, the Act is a violation of the World Trade Organization's rules that cannot be accepted in the long term, the minister said.

☆ Japanese apprentices out to upstage German masters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Nick Mulvenney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We are very grateful to the Germans, they are role models for us," Moriyasu told a news conference on Tuesday. "We are still developing, of course, and at the same time have incorporated good qualities from Japan into our playing style. "So we have kind of mixed feelings about playing Germany but no matter who our opponents are, we are going to give absolutely the best performance that we can." Group E also includes former champions Spain as well as Costa Rica, presenting Japan with their toughest first-round draw in their seventh successive trip to the World Cup finals. Moriyasu said that did not alter their ambition to get beyond the last 16 for the first time at a World Cup.

☆ Chinese carmakers target more European sales with five-star EVs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"All Chinese EV makers want to achieve Euro NCAP five-star ratings in order to be more competitive in the European market," said Brian Gu, president of Chinese EV maker Xpeng (9868.HK). Perhaps more importantly for sales, high safety ratings also open up the potentially huge corporate car fleet market for Chinese EV makers. European carmakers are also pursuing five-star ratings for their EVs and hybrids, from BMW's (BMWG.DE) iX to Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) ID.4 and ID.5. But almost half the Chinese cars sold were EVs, according to Inovev, giving them a 5.8% share of Europe's fully-electric vehicle market. Inovev vice-president Jamel Taganza said all Chinese cars sold in Europe would be EVs within a few years, with more lower-cost models on the way.

BERLIN/PARIS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - France, Germany and Spain have reached agreement over starting the next phase of the development of a new fighter jet dubbed FCAS, Europe's largest defence project at an estimated cost of more than 100 billion euros, two sources told Reuters on Friday. The three countries and their respective industries had struck a deal, said a defence source who spoke on condition of anonymity and did not give details. According to earlier information, the next development phase for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) is expected to cost some 3.5 billion euros ($3.63 billion), to be shared equally by the three countries. France's Dassault (AM.PA), Airbus (AIR.PA) and Indra (IDR.MC) - the latter two representing Germany and Spain respectively - are involved in the scheme to start replacing French Rafale and German and Spanish Eurofighters from 2040. ($1 = 0.9642 euros)Writing by Sabine Siebold, Editing by Miranda, Kirsti KnolleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU to propose natural gas price cap after Nov. 24 meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 27-country European Union has for months debated whether to cap gas prices, as the bloc struggles to contain soaring inflation and energy prices driven by Russia slashing gas supplies to Europe. EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said the Commission, which drafts EU policies, would propose a cap after a meeting of EU energy ministers on Nov. 24 where they are expected to instruct the bloc's executive to move ahead with the proposal. EU countries are split over whether to cap gas prices. Belgium, Poland, Italy and Greece have demanded Brussels propose a gas price cap before Nov. 24, and threatened to block other EU policies including faster renewable energy permitting rules, if one is not proposed. "In a global commodity market, we cannot attract these volumes unless our (gas) prices are competitive against the other world regions, namely the Asian market."

Apart from generating and selling electricity, RWE also operates a large desk that trades in electricity, gas and CO2 certificates as well as other commodities, which can lead to bumper profits in times of significant price swings. "We have a very fundamental understanding of how markets work," Chief Financial Officer Michael Mueller told reporters on Thursday. Stifel Research, keeping a "buy" rating on RWE shares, said trading results were driven by so-called contango, where the futures price of a commodity is higher than spot levels. Nine-month adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 4.1 billion euros ($4.1 billion), up from 2.4 billion a year earlier. Apart from the strong performance in trading, where profits were up 59%, results also benefited from higher electricity wholesale prices for gas and biomass, Mueller said.

☆ Germany to block Chinese takeover of semiconductor firm ERS Electronic - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The German government will block a prospective Chinese takeover of the German semiconductor firm ERS Electronic due to security concerns, the Handelsblatt newspaper said on Wednesday, citing government sources. ERS Electronic declined comment. It was not immediately clear which Chinese company was interested in buying the small German firm, which is based in the southern state of Bavaria. But the German government will likely block the Chinese takeover of Elmos' (ELGG.DE) chip factory on security grounds. Reporting by Christina Amann; writing by Matthias Williams Editing by Madeline ChambersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BEIJING, Nov 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a delegation of business leaders landed in Beijing on Friday morning, kicking off the first visit by a leader of a G7 nation to China in three years. China's strict zero-COVID policy and growing tensions with the West have made it unfeasible for leaders of major western powers to visit China, while Chinese President Xi Jinping has only just resumed foreign trips. Amid historic inflation and looming recession in Germany, Scholz will be looking to emphasise the need for continued cooperation with China, analysts say. In the run-up to the visit, there had been criticism of the visit within the EU and the German government coalition, mainly from the Green Party and the Liberals. Scholz has changed his tune even faster, but he does not have as solid of a domestic political standing as Merkel," said Wang.

The top diplomats of the G7 rich democracies will join sessions in the western German city of Muenster focusing on Ukraine, China and the Indo-Pacific as well as Iran and Africa, among others. "G7 partners will now together kick off winter aid for Ukraine," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the opening of the event. The joint winter aid will be coordinated by G7 partners, she noted. Japan and Germany have agreed to work towards a military logistics pact, a Japanese government official said on Thursday after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 meeting. The G7 session was being hosted by Germany as holder of the group's rotating presidency.

Eastern Canada, with its strong electricity-generating winds and short shipping distance, is a prime potential source for green hydrogen. Most hydrogen output uses natural gas or coal, called gray hydrogen, but companies want to produce green hydrogen without emissions by separating hydrogen from oxygen in water using wind-powered electrolyzers. Green hydrogen is typically more expensive, but soaring natural gas prices have elevated gray hydrogen production costs above those of green hydrogen, according to an October report. GERMANY-CANADA HYDROGEN PARTNERSHIPGermany and Canada signed a non-binding agreement in August to ship clean Canadian hydrogen to Germany by 2025. "We believe in green energy, but we don’t believe in destroying nature for a profit or supplying Germany," Rowe said.

BRUSSELS, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Italy is attempting to weaken a pledge 10 European governments intend to make on Thursday to stop export credit support for fossil fuel projects, according to draft documents and sources familiar with the matter. A group of ministers plan to make a joint statement on Thursday committing to end public trade and export finance support for overseas fossil fuel projects by the end of 2022. Three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters Italy had asked to remove the list specifying which fossil fuel activities would lose such support. That report said no new fossil fuel extraction projects can be developed if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels. An Export Finance for Future report in May said the 10 countries involved had committed 29.8 billion euros ($29.50 billion) in export credit support for fossil fuel projects from 2015-2020.

Some of Europe's largest banks have warned of growing risks as the economy fizzles after posting stronger-than-expected profits last week. European banks' shares (.SX7e) have fallen nearly 25% from their highs before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The outlook for British and Austrian banks remained stable, Moody's said. For Italy, Moody's cited stagflation risks and an expectation that the economy won't grow in 2023 after an expansion of 2.7% in 2022. In Poland, Moody's said banks face a near stagnation in economic growth next year, coupled with a big rise in interest rates and inflation, which will "limit growth opportunities".

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