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☆ Japan, Germany agree to carefully monitor markets, coordinate as needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, March 18 (Reuters) - Japan and Germany agreed on Saturday to coordinate closely on financial jitters stemming from problems among Western banks while carefully monitoring global markets and economy, a Japanese finance ministry official told Reuters. The agreement came in a 45-minute meeting between Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, visiting Tokyo for bilateral government consultations. We will carefully watch developments and coordinate with the central bank and overseas authorities," Suzuki told Lindner, according to the Japanese official. Both sides agreed on the need to closely monitor financial developments and coordinate as needed, the official said, without elaborating further. They agreed on the need to strengthen supply chains as an element of economic security.

The Greens in particular, but also the SPD, want to invest more in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The FDP on other hand, seeks a return to solid public finances after signing off on hundreds of billions of euros of exceptional expenditure during the pandemic and energy crisis. German coalition disputes are also spilling over into European Union policymaking, sparking irritation among partners. Proportional representation, for example, means coalition governments are the norm, which can slow down decision-making. However singling out just one minister could could result in that minister's party exiting the coalition, he said.

☆ "Calm down!" EU finance ministers play down SVB contagion despite banking shares rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies European bank shares down nearly 10% over two daysMinisters try to soothe markets as investors dump bank stocksFrance's Le Maire: "calm down!" BRUSSELS, March 13 (Reuters) - European finance ministers and the EU's economics commissioner played down the contagion risk of the collapse of U.S. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) while European bank shares saw their biggest rout since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the start of a Eurogroup finance ministers meeting in Brussels, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called on markets to "calm down" and European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni stressed he did not see a risk of contagion for European banks following SVB's collapse (SIVB.O). France's Le Maire and his Belgian counterpart Vincent Van Peteghem also said they saw no specific concern for their country's banks, as investors were dumping their financial institutions' shares. Belgian finance minister Vincent Van Peteghem also poured oil on the waters.

☆ Germany must tackle expenditure problem, says finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 12 (Reuters) - Germany Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Sunday he wanted to tackle expenditure in the 2024 budget to fix the country's structural deficit that had resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis. "We have a massive expenditure problem," he told broadcaster ARD on Sunday. Lindner, of the pro-business Free Democrats, and Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens last month clashed over plans for next year's budget, according to an exchange of letters seen by Reuters. His ministry recently said the draft budget should be ready by June despite the growing tensions. Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Sarah Marsh, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals. GERMANY LAGGINGWhile several countries across Europe are still formulating telecom policies, only Britain and Sweden have so far banned Huawei and ZTE from supplying critical 5G network equipment. The German government was last month unable to answer a parliamentary request about how many Huawei components operators were using in their 5G networks, filed in part in response to the report. The deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain's 5G networks by the end of 2027 remains unchanged.

☆ Germany needs to use all energy options available - FinMin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 1 (Reuters) - Germany needs to use all energy options available to bring down high prices and protect certain sectors of the economy, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Wednesday. "We need all colours of hydrogen," the minister said, referring to debate in Brussels about the environmental credentials of hydrogen produced from nuclear energy. "Green hydrogen is scarce and expensive," Lindner said, referring to hydrogen generated from renewable energy. He spoke out in favour of blue hydrogen, produced from natural gas, and red hydrogen, produced from nuclear energy. Lindner said some sectors had no future in the country if energy prices remained at such a high level, which would be "a massive loss".

☆ Protest in Berlin over arming Ukraine against Russia draws thousands
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People take part in a protest against the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and in support of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany February 25, 2023. REUTERS/Christian MangBERLIN, Feb 25 (Reuters) - A demonstration against supplying Ukraine with weapons for war with Russia attracted 10,000 people on Saturday, drawing criticism from top German government officials and a large police presence to maintain order. Germany, along with the United States, has been one of the biggest suppliers of weapons for Ukraine. "Negotiate, not escalate" one sign held by a demonstrator said, while a banner in the crowd read "Not our war". "Whoever does not stand by Ukraine is on the wrong side of history," Lindner said on Twitter.

☆ G20 meeting: Germany regrets China's position on Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Saturday it was "regrettable" that China had blocked a Group of 20 communique to condemn Russia's war on Ukraine. "But for me it was more important that all the others adhered to a clear position of international law, multilateralism and the end of the war," he said. Lindner was speaking to reporters after a meeting of finance leaders from the world's major economies in Bengaluru. "There was a cautious signal from China," Lindner said. Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Mark Potter and Mike HarrisonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - G20 finance chiefs have been unable to reach a consensus on describing the war in Ukraine and are likely to end a meeting in India on Saturday without a joint communique, delegates said. Russia, which is a member of the G20, refers to its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation", and avoids calling it an invasion or war. Host India is also pressing the meeting to avoid using the word "war" in any communique, G20 officials have told Reuters. "We need absolute clarity, this is a war initiated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," he said. A senior G20 source said negotiations over the communique were difficult, with Russia and China blocking proposals made by Western countries.

☆ G20 finance leaders to gauge toll on global economy on Ukraine war's anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Global finance leaders will tally the economic damage from Russia's war in Ukraine on Friday as they meet on the conflict's first anniversary with some voicing concerns that more sanctions on Moscow would disrupt a modest improvement in growth. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday highlighted the improvement, saying the global economy "is in a better place today than many predicted just a few months ago". Yellen and fellow G7 ministers on Thursday called for more financial support for Ukraine and vowed to maintain tough sanctions on Russia. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the pressure on Russia must be kept high to "completely isolate" Russia's economy. Yellen said the communique was still under discussion and she hoped to see a strong condemnation of Russia's invasion and the damage it has caused Ukraine and the global economy.

Participants at the meeting, however, are likely to focus on the war in Ukraine. The G20 bloc includes the wealthy G7 democracies, as well as Russia, China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Reuters that G20 financial leaders must condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine and that Europe was working on new sanctions against Moscow. G7 chair Japan's finance minister, Sunichi Suzuki, told reporters that the group would closely monitor the effectiveness of sanctions and "take further actions as needed". German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the pressure on Russia must be kept high to "completely isolate" Russia's economy.

"I think that we have a very good candidate for the World Bank," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said of Banga during a news conference at the G20 finance leaders meeting in India. The comments marked a turnabout from Tuesday, when Germany's international development minister, Svenja Schulze, who represents a different party in Germany's coalition government, said the next World Bank chief should be a woman. The G20 ministers meeting is being held on the outskirts of the Indian tech hub city of Bengaluru. 'UNIQUE SET OF SKILLS'The United States, the lender's dominant shareholder, has chosen every World Bank president since the founding of the institution at the end of World War Two. World Bank staff are bracing for Banga to make some management changes at the bank, emboldened by Yellen's repeated calls for "bolder and more imaginative" action by the bank, two bank sources told Reuters.

☆ Germany signals support for U.S. pick to lead World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The German government has signalled its support for the United States' nomination of Ajay Banga for president of the World Bank, with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner calling Banga's nomination a "very remarkable" proposal on Friday. U.S. President Joe Biden nominated former Mastercard Inc (MA.N) CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank on Thursday, betting the India-born executive's ties to the private sector and emerging markets will jump-start the 77-year-old institution's overhaul to better address climate change. The finance minister added that Germany would follow the nomination with "great attention" and expressed "sympathy" for the proposal. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had also previously showed support for Banga's nomination. Reporting by Christian Kraemer, Writing by Maria Martinez, Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"India is not keen to discuss or back any additional sanctions on Russia during the G20," said one of the officials. "The existing sanctions on Russia have had a negative impact on the world." Japan's finance minister said on Tuesday that financial leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations will meet on the sidelines of the G20 meeting to discuss measures against Russia. "Russia themselves want to discuss the economic impact of sanctions." However, neither the Russian finance minister nor the central bank chief were expected to attend the meeting and they will be represented by their deputies.

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from G20 nations will join the meeting on Friday. The meeting in the Nandi Hills summer retreat is the first major event of India's G20 presidency and the war in Ukraine is likely to feature prominently during the proceedings. The G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are also expected to discuss unblocking debt restructuring for distressed economies that have been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner will be attending the meetings and are expected to press China to "quickly deliver" on debt relief for low and middle income countries. However, neither the Russian finance minister nor the central bank chief were expected to attend the meeting and they will be represented by their deputies.

☆ German exports to China decline in January despite lifting of lockdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Exports to China fell by 7.1% in January compared with the same month last year, to 7.4 billion euros ($7.90 billion). By comparison, exports to the United States grew by 20.8% to 12 billion euros, with the world's largest economy retaining its place as the most important customer for goods made in Germany. While goods worth around 298 billion euros were traded between the two countries last year, exports of German goods to China increased by only 3.1%, to around 107 billion euros. Germany, on the other hand, imported goods worth 191 billion euros from China, a third more than in 2021. Overall, Germany had a trade deficit with China of around 84 billion euros in 2022, a situation that German Finance Minister Christian Lindner called a "dangerous development".

BERLIN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Germany must end its expansionary fiscal policy or risk fuelling inflation, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told Reuters in an interview. "Rising interest rates are already a signal for the government to see that it can't continue like this," Lindner said. Lindner said Germany was monitoring inflation developments closely and had already introduced a raft of measures to curb inflation. Lindner said that IMF warnings had to be taken seriously. "I am sure that the European Central Bank is also following the situation closely," he said.

BERLIN, Feb 20 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Christian Lindner considers the budget demands made by his government coalition partners to be excessive and "simply unrealistic", he told Reuters in a TV interview on Monday. Lindner said the requested additional spending amounted to about 70 billion euros ($70.78 billion) compared with earlier plans. According to the finance minister, the demands head into the range of 100 billion euros more per year for the years 2025 and onward. The new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants 10 additional billion euros for the defence budget next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. "However, what is clear is that 10 billion euros more in 2024 than now is an unrealistic figure," he said.

☆ Developing countries' debt troubles in focus at G20 talks, says Germany's Lindner
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China is by far the largest creditor for many highly indebted countries in Africa and Asia, and has been repeatedly pressed to make concessions. G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs will meet from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25 to discuss growing debt troubles among developing countries triggered by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Highly indebted developing countries must retain access to international financial markets so that they can continue to import energy and food, Lindner said. India has drafted a proposal for G20 countries to help debtor nations by asking big lenders including China to take a large haircut on loans. Just days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lindner praised the unity among Western nations in supporting Ukraine, both financially and militarily.

☆ Biden's IRA has left Europe blind-sided. And playing catchup could lead to 2 big mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"U.S. legislation doesn't pass overnight," Emre Peker, director at the consultancy group Eurasia, told CNBC, adding that the EU could have acted faster. Luisa Santos, deputy director at BusinessEurope, a group of business federations, told CNBC that "it is still a bit early to say who will invest where." watch nowBelgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told CNBC that more state aid "is not a good answer." Several other experts have also raised concerns about easing state aid rules. Slow to respondIn addition to challenges with state aid relaxation, timing is also a risk.

☆ German finance minister warns against quick decoupling from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Germany must reduce its dependence on China gradually as decoupling from the Chinese market would costs jobs in Europe's biggest economy, Finance Minister Christian Lindner was quoted as saying on Sunday. "Decoupling our economy from the Chinese market would not be in the interest of jobs in Germany," Lindner was quoted as saying by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He said that gradually other world regions and markets would have to become more important for German business over the coming years and decades, Welt reported. "The political conditions must be improved for this," Lindner said. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, editing by Emma-Victoria FarrOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Germany forecast to narrowly escape recession in 2023 - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Holger Hansen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Germany is expected to narrowly avoid recession this year with price-adjusted growth of 0.2%, a source said on Wednesday, citing estimates from a draft of the government's annual economic report. This is to be followed by 1.8% growth in gross domestic product next year, according to the draft report, the source said. In autumn, the government had forecast a 0.4% decline in GDP for 2023. According to the source, the government is also set to revise down its inflation forecast for 2023 to 6.0%, with inflation expected to ease further in 2024 to 2.8%. On Tuesday, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said inflation this year was expected to be lower than the government's autumn forecast of 7.0% due in part to a fall in energy prices.

☆ Germany will likely face 'very mild' recession, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailGermany will likely face a 'very mild' recession this year, finance minister Christian Lindner saysGerman Finance Minister Christian Lindner said there was still a lot of uncertainty, but he has become more optimistic about the economic outlook in recent months.

☆ German finance minister says country will likely face a 'very mild' recession this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Tuesday that he believed the country would experience a mild recession in 2023, but that he felt positive about his country's economic outlook. "There is an opportunity to see faster economic recovery and faster decline in inflation rates than expected," Lindner said. Earlier this month, the country's inflation reading for December came back lower than expected as it declined to 9.6%. Lindner said he expected a "very mild" recession, but also believed the Germany economy was resilient. He said the German government was now focused on "strengthening the competitiveness" of its economy.

☆ Germany joins battle against EU ban on financial product commission
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

EU financial services chief Mairead McGuinness set out last month a detailed case in favour of banning "inducements", or commission paid by a bank or insurer to financial advisers who have sold their products. McGuinness could propose a ban in her upcoming "retail investment strategy" to deepen the bloc's capital market by attracting more retail investors. EU states and the European Parliament would have the final say on any ban. "Banning inducements in general would mean a serious setback to efforts to increase retail investment in the capital markets," he added. Insurance Europe, an insurance industry body, said an outright EU-wide ban would undermine the goals of the retail investment strategy.

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