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☆ German businesses expect only mild recession as disruptions ease
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There have been growing signs that the German economy could stave off the worst of an economic downturn triggered by a plunge in energy supply from Russia after the Ukraine invasion. Inflation slowed slightly to 11.3% in November from a high of 11.6% the month prior as energy prices eased. The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) said there were many indications that supply chain disruptions were gradually easing. However, the DIHK warned that soaring energy prices and easing consumer sentiment were still clouding the outlook for 2023. The ZDH association of craftsmen echoed the DIHK, saying noticeably fewer orders were coming in for next year.

☆ Uniper CEO: complete repayment of billions in state aid 'ambitious'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Uniper SE FollowBERLIN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Uniper (UN01.DE) Chief Executive Klaus-Dieter Maubach is sceptical that the embattled German utility will be able to repay billions of euros in state aid in full, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper. This would be "a very ambitious goal," Maubach told the paper in comments set to be published on Sunday. He said that since the beginning of December, daily losses have been close to 70 million euros ($74 million), with the last few days coming in slightly below that figure. Germany completed the nationalization of Uniper earlier this week after the European Commission approved a 34.5 billion euro recapitalisation plan and Uniper shareholders also gave the green light. ($1 = 0.9432 euros)Reporting by Anneli Palmen Writing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BioNTech starts human trial to test malaria vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationBERLIN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - BioNTech (22UAy.DE) on Friday initiated an early-stage study to evaluate its experimental malaria vaccine in humans, the German drugmaker said. The Phase 1 trial is expected to enrol 60 volunteers in the United States with no history of malaria to assess the vaccine candidate at three-dose levels. Known as BNT165b1, it is the first vaccine candidate from BioNTech's malaria project, which will also establish vaccine production in Africa. Another keenly-watched effort is a malaria vaccine from Oxford University. BioNTech's malaria vaccine effort is based on its mRNA technology, which was employed during the pandemic to quickly develop COVID-19 vaccines, by prompting the human body to make a protein that is part of the pathogen, triggering an immune response.

☆ BioNTech ships COVID shots to China for use by Germans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BioNTech said it is working with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (600196.SS) to deliver the shots to greater China, with availability expected in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Chengdu. China would need to approve expanding access beyond the about 20,000 German nationals, the source said on Wednesday. "Most of Chinese here got the BioNTech vaccine, the vaccine that was first available. SinoVac vaccine was not available in Europe," a first-generation Chinese expatriate who has lived in Europe for more than a decade told Reuters. The expatriate, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their family in China, said that the government there might only make BioNTech shots available to Chinese nationals if it came to the worst-case scenario.

Police arrested the suspect, a German citizen identified as Carsten L., on Wednesday in Berlin, the federal prosecutors office said. "The accused is suspected of state treason," federal prosecutors said in a statement. "In 2022, he shared information that he came by in the course of his work with a Russian intelligence agency. As such, the BND would not be giving out any further details on the case until federal prosecutors had concluded their investigation, Kahl added. The last time a German intelligence employee was arrested for treason was in 2014 - although then it was for betraying secrets to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

☆ Chile to open embassy in Palestinian territories, says president
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Natalia A. Ramos Miranda | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Chile plans to open an embassy in the Palestinian territories, President Gabriel Boric said late on Wednesday, which could make the Andean country one of only a handful to have an embassy-level office in the territories that are contested with Israel. "I am taking a risk (saying) this... we are going to raise our official representation in Palestine from having a charge d'affaires; now we are going to open an embassy," Boric said, without giving details on where the embassy would be located. A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Chile said it would not be making a public statement on the matter. The Palestinian territories, which Palestinians want recognized as a state, encompass the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and contest control over East Jerusalem. In September, Boric postponed receiving the credentials of Israel's new ambassador to Chile after Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager.

☆ German cartel office ends proceedings against Google News Showcase
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Germany's cartel office has concluded proceedings against Google (GOOGL.O) over its online news service after the tech giant made several changes benefiting publishers, the office said on Wednesday. The office said Google had abandoned plans to integrate the Google News Showcase into general searches and changed its contractual practice to make sure publishers do not face difficulties in asserting their ancillary copyright in response to its concerns. A publisher's participation in the News Showcase will continue not to affect search results, added the office. The cartel office said Google would implement further measures in the coming weeks, including providing more information about Showcase, and that it would continue to monitor this development. Under expanded powers that entered into force last year, the cartel office has taken up cases involving several tech giants, including Amazon (AMZN.O), Apple (AAPL.O) and Facebook owner Meta .

"I can confirm a shipment of the BioNTech vaccine is on its way to China," the person told journalists in Berlin. In return, Chinese citizens in Europe can be vaccinated with China's SinoVac (SVA.O), the spokesperson said. Experts predict that the country of 1.4 billion people could face more than a million COVID deaths next year. China is stuck between rising Covid-19 cases and stalled vaccination ratesNO WESTERN SHOTSChina has nine domestically developed COVID vaccines approved for use, more than any other country. While the shots became available in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the regulatory review for mainland China has not been concluded.

☆ Central Park gate honors wrongly imprisoned ‘Exonerated 5’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

They arrived in the chill of a late fall morning, some singing hymns, to dedicate a park entry to the men once known as the Central Park Five, but now remembered as the Exonerated Five. Master drummer Baba Don Babatunde, left, and civil rights activist Queen Mother Moore, right, lead a spiritual moment, during the Central Park gate-naming ceremony on Dec. 19, 2022, in New York. Raymond Santana Jr., left, one of five men exonerated, during a naming ceremony for the northeast gateway of Central Park, Monday. Bebeto Matthews / APSoon after, the convictions of the Central Park Five were thrown out in 2002 after the men served six to 13 years in prison. Other entrances to the park have been labeled to reflect groups of people who live and work in the city, with names like Artisans’ Gate, Scholars’ Gate and Strangers’ Gate.

☆ Lufthansa board to get bonuses despite state aid - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Executive board members at German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) will each receive several million euros in bonuses for 2021 and 2022 despite pandemic-related state aid payments to the carrier during that time, daily Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday. The supervisory board approved the payments at a meeting in early December, Handelsblatt said, citing company sources. A Lufthansa spokesperson told Reuters he could not comment on discussions within the supervisory board. Government sources played down the bonus report, saying Lufthansa's board had worked well and the state had come out of the investment with a profit. A Lufthansa spokesperson told Handelsblatt that the money would not be paid out until 2025, if everything went well until then, meaning the payments were not retroactive but rather part of a long-term bonus.

☆ Lufthansa exec board to receive bonuses for 2021, 2022 despite state aid - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Executive board members at German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) will each receive several million euros as a bonus for 2021 and 2022 despite the company receiving pandemic-related state aid during that time, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday. The supervisory board approved the payments at a meeting in early December, Handelsblatt reported, citing company sources. However, some employee representatives voted against the payment, as they saw it in violation of the rescue package conditions, according to the daily. The German government's economic stabilisation fund saved Lufthansa from bankruptcy during the pandemic with a bailout package totalling 9 billion euros ($9.53 billion). A Lufthansa spokesperson told Handelsblatt that the money would not be paid out until 2025, if everything went well until then, meaning the payments were not retroactive but rather part of a long-term bonus.

Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) was once Uniper's biggest supplier of gas, but a big drop in deliveries after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine forced the German gas importer to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices to honour its contracts. Uniper's investors voted in favour of the two main measures at Monday's meeting, an 8 billion euro capital injection by the German state and allowing a further injection of up to 25 billion euros by Berlin. Maubach said Uniper currently had access to around 2.5 billion euros of funds. As part of the bailout, the German government will end up owning just below 99% of Uniper, Germany's largest gas trader, following two share issues. The loss of Russian gas, Moscow's retaliation for Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, triggered a 40 billion euro net loss for the importer, which provides around a third of Germany's gas, the largest loss in German corporate history.

☆ Uniper boss tells investors to back German bailout or risk all
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT/BERLIN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Germany's Uniper (UN01.DE) called on shareholders to approve a bailout and nationalisation that will cost the government more than 50 billion euros ($53 billion), warning that it will otherwise have to consider filing for insolvency. Gazprom (GAZP.MM) was once its biggest supplier, but a big drop in deliveries after Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced Uniper to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices to meet its contracts. "In the Management Board's view, a possible insolvency could lead to a complete loss for shareholders." If the bailout is approved, the German government will end up owning just below 99% of Uniper, Germany's largest gas trader, following two share issues. Germany's Finance Ministry will be responsible for the stake, Uniper said on Monday.

More than 40 million borrowers like Morales-Bartlett were eligible to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt under President Joe Biden’s one-time student loan forgiveness plan. Meanwhile, the pandemic-era federal student loan repayment pause has been extended while the government awaits the court’s decision. The average federal student loan debt nears $30,000. Brown’s son still has about $50,000 in student debt despite being one of the thousands of North Carolinians who received some student loan relief as part of a multistate settlement with Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers, over allegations of unfair and deceptive student loan servicing and predatory lending practices, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Stein's office. He also applied to the currently blocked student loan forgiveness program and is waiting to hear back.

☆ Heat pumps are an energy upgrade for homeowners that's becoming a climate and financial winner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Heat pumps are becoming more popular for residential housing with energy prices increasing and the need to reduce use of fossil fuel heating systems. Thinking about a home heat pump? The use of heat pumps will become more common as governments legislate their adoption. Here are four important things to know about upgrading your home to a heat pump system. "While there's an upfront cost, millions of homeowners would save money with a heat pump over the life of the device," he said.

☆ Germany could become Europe's big semiconductor producer - Scholz
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Germany could become Europe's big producer of semiconductors thanks to investments being made in the field, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a digital summit on Friday. "This would create an ecosystem that would help the serenity of the European Union, that we are not dependent on other regions," said Scholz, who added that Germany was working intensely on re-establishing semiconductor production. Reporting by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ SAP to stop developing new functions for Business ByDesign software -Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Software maker SAP (SAPG.DE) will not develop any new functions for its Business ByDesign software for small and medium-sized firms from the second quarter of 2023, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday. Updates to adhere to legal requirements or close security gaps, for example, will continue to be available without an end date, Handelsblatt reported. The German software group is also transferring a considerable part of service related to the software to the Indian IT service provider HCL, Handelsblatt reported, citing business and industry sources. Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German economy ministry calls for joint EU response to U.S. inflation act
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Germany wants a joint European response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that would involve simplifying rules on state support and expanding funding opportunities, according to a German economy ministry document seen by Reuters on Friday. The ministry document also suggests member states could anchor sustainability criteria more firmly in public tenders at the national level as well as extend or increase traditional subsidy programmes, but warned against local content requirements which favour domestic industry. These would not only likely contradict World Trade Organization (WTO) law, according to the document, but also contribute to "a further erosion of the world trade order". The EU and Washington have established a joint task force in hope of resolving the dispute over the $430 billion act. (This story has been corrected to specify that the document is from the economy ministry, not finance ministry; and to clarify in the headline that the ministry calls for, not lays out, a joint response.)

☆ A janitor laid off at Twitter's headquarters said one of Elon Musk's team members told him he'd be replaced by robots
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A janitor told BBC that a member of Elon Musk's team said his job would eventually be replaced by robots. Four former Twitter cleaners told the publication they were laid off without severance on Monday. Four former Twitter janitors told the publication they were laid off without severance on Monday. Multiple workers told the publication that they are concerned about how they will be able to pay bills in the coming weeks, particularly with the holidays coming up. "Overnight we don't have anything," Adrianna Villarreal, a cleaner who had worked at Twitter since 2018, told BBC.

☆ Penguin Random House CEO to quit after merger blocked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Penguin Random House head Markus Dohle will step down at the end of the year after a U.S. judge blocked a planned $2.2 billion merger of the world's largest publisher and rival Simon & Schuster, the company said in a statement on Friday. Nihar Malaviya, who is president and chief operating officer of Penguin Random House U.S., will take over as interim CEO from Jan. 1, the company said. Thomas Rabe, chief executive of Penguin's German owner Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F), expressed full confidence in Malaviya, who he said had a chance of permanently becoming CEO. With the deal's dissolution, Penguin will pay a $200 million termination fee to Paramount. Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Climate activists glue themselves to airport tarmac in Berlin and Munich
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] Activists of "Letzte Generation" (Last Generation) glued themselves to the tarmac of the airport to protest for a speed limit on highways as well as for affordable public transport, in Munich, Germany, December 8, 2022. REUTERS/Anja GuderBERLIN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Climate activists took their protest against cheap air travel to two of Germany's largest airports on Thursday, with some gluing themselves to the tarmac in Munich and Berlin. According to local media, flights at Munich airport were disrupted. Police in southern Germany said the protesters were currently being unglued from the Munich airport tarmac and taken into custody, and the protests were dispersed. Thursday's actions are the latest effort by activists to raise awareness by blocking runways and streets in Germany.

☆ More arrests expected in German coup plot in coming days, say authorities
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Police escorts a person after 25 suspected members and supporters of a far-right group were detained during raids across Germany, in Karlsruhe, Germany December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Heiko BeckerBERLIN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - German authorities expect further arrests and raids in the coming days in connection with a far-right group that prosecutors say were preparing a violent overthrow of the state to install a former member of a German royal family as national leader. "Based on my experience, there is usually a second wave of arrests," Georg Maier, the interior minister of the eastern German state of Thuringia, told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Thursday. Twenty-five members and supporters of the group were detained on Wednesday in raids involving some 3,000 security personnel that Maier described as unprecedented in modern German history. Reporting by Miranda Murray, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany wants Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania to join Schengen - interior minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Germany supports bids by Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania to join the Schengen area, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in Brussels on Thursday, adding that she did not share Austria's opposition to enlargement of the visa-free travel zone. "I cannot understand Austria's position in this respect," Faeser told reporters ahead of talks with her EU counterparts. "I know that Austria has big domestic debates over the issue." She added: "We will support Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria, all three." Reporting by Rachel More and Sabine Siebold Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Volkswagen expects difficult 2023 for financial services unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) expects a difficult 2023 for its financial services unit on the back of economic downturn, higher energy prices and rising interest rates. "We see that people are more cautious due to recession expectations, and we are not selling so many cars," said Frank Fiedler, chief financial officer of Volkswagen Financial Services, in Braunschweig on Wednesday evening. The financial unit is still benefiting from high prices for used cars and lower costs for credit and residual value risks in the current year. Operating profit should be in a range of between 5 billion and 5.5 billion euros, Fiedler said. That compares with a previous forecast of about 5 billion euros, and operating profit of 5.7 billion euros in 2021.

☆ Volkswagen to invest $482 million in electrifying Wolfsburg plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will invest 460 million euros ($482 million) by early 2025 in its Wolfsburg plant, with most of the funds going into preparation for the production of the electric ID.3 model, brand chief Thomas Schaefer said on Wednesday. The MEB+ platform will provide faster charging times and longer ranges, according to the statement. The new model will add to our bestseller ID.4 and ID.4 models and expand our market position," he said. The timeline for production of the ID.3 is on track, with partial production to take place in Wolfsburg from 2023 and full production expected in 2024. ($1 = 0.9535 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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