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REUTERS/Andrew KellyApril 3 (Reuters) - A Delaware judge on Monday dismissed Merck & Co's (MRK.N) lawsuit seeking to hold Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) responsible for more talc-related liabilities stemming from its $14.2 billion purchase of Merck's consumer care business in 2014. Bayer welcomed the decision, saying that it expected Merck to "take full responsibility for the product claims". "Bayer will continue to defend itself against any further efforts by Merck to avoid or improperly transfer its liabilities to Bayer," the company said in a statement. The $14.2 billion purchase also included Merck's Claritin allergy medicine and Coppertone sunscreen lines. The case is Merck & Co v. Bayer AG, Delaware Chancery Court, No.

The so-called Joint Economic Forecasts, to be presented in Berlin on Wednesday, expect a 0.1% expansion in gross domestic product in the first quarter. The five economic institutes which prepare the Joint Economic Forecasts predict GDP growth in Germany of 0.3% in 2023, up from a predicted contraction of 0.4% in the autumn, two sources familiar with the data told Reuters. The economics ministry will update its forecasts incorporating the results of the Joint Economic Forecasts this spring. The economic institutes predict inflation of 6.0% in 2023, before slowing to 2.4% in 2024. The Joint Economic Forecasts are prepared by the Ifo Institute, the Halle Institute for Economic Research, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Austrian Institute of Economic Research.

☆ Germany starts fine proceedings against Twitter over user complaints
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - Germany's federal office of justice has started proceedings to fine Twitter (TWTR.MX), accusing the social media company of mishandling user complaints over "illegal" content, a statement said on Tuesday. Several instances of content published on Twitter were reported to the office, "which the authority considers illegal and, despite user complaints, was not deleted or blocked by the provider within the legally stipulated periods," the statement said. The German authority did not specify which examples of illegal content it was referring to, or the size of a possible fine. In December, a senior German official called for the company to be put under direct supervision of the European Commission. Reporting by Rachel More; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Friederike Heine and Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swiss court upholds corruption ruling against mining magnate Steinmetz
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, April 4 (Reuters) - A Swiss appeals court on Tuesday upheld a guilty verdict for corruption for mining magnate Beny Steinmetz, who was sentenced in Geneva two years ago in one of the mining world's most high-profile legal disputes. However, it acquitted him of an earlier sentence for forgery. Steinmetz can appeal the verdict. The higher court's three judges sentenced Steinmetz to three years' imprisonment of which 18 months must be served. Reporting by Emma Farge and Clara Denina, Editing by Friederike Heine and Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German exports rise significantly more than expected in February
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - German exports rose significantly more than expected in February due to strong demand from the United States and China, posting their biggest increase in 10 months, data showed on Tuesday. Exports increased by 4.0% on the previous month, the federal statistics office said. A Reuters poll had predicted a month-on-month rise in exports of 1.6%. In February, exports to European Union countries rose 2.0% on the previous month, while exports to the U.S. and China increased by 9.4% and 10.2% respectively compared with January. Despite the increase, export demand still lacks momentum, Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo, said.

☆ Exclusive: Economic institutes forecast German GDP growth of 0.3% in 2023 - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - Five economic institutes are forecasting gross domestic product growth in Germany of 0.3% in 2023, up from a predicted contraction of 0.4% in autumn, two sources familiar with the data told Reuters. For 2024, the four German and one Austrian institutes forecast GDP growth of 1.5%, down from 1.9% previously. The economic institutes predict an inflation rate of 6.0% in 2023, before slowing to 2.4% in 2024. (This story has been corrected to fix 2024 GDP forecast to 1.9% from 1.7%, in paragraph 2)Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany to require a 26.5% cut to energy consumption by 2030 - draft law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 3 (Reuters) - Germany's ruling coalition plans to require the private and public sectors to cut energy consumption by 26.5% by 2030 compared to 2008, a draft law seen by Reuters showed on Monday. Germans managed to save energy last winter amid fears of blackouts and a government campaign to push citizens and industry to cut energy use by 20%. Before the crisis, between 2008 and 2020, the country's energy savings stood at less than 6%. This month, the German cabinet is due to pass a new law making even greater savings obligatory for the public and private sectors, according to the draft law. The draft law also sets unbinding reduction targets of 39% by 2040 and 45% by 2045.

☆ EY fined, banned from some audits in Germany over Wirecard scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

APAS said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions on Wirecard's auditing company and five individual auditors, without referring to EY by name. Wirecard's annual report names EY as the auditor for that period. Wirecard filed for insolvency in June 2020, owing creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro hole in its accounts that EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud. The ban forbids the auditor from participating in tenders for audits of certain companies for two years. This includes all listed companies as well as the majority of the financial sector consisting of banks and insurance companies.

☆ 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.

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

German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, rose by a more-than-anticipated 7.8% on the year in March, preliminary data from the federal statistics office showed on Thursday. Analysts had expected harmonised data to increase by 0.8% on the previous month and grow by 7.5% on an annual basis. According to non-harmonised standards, German consumer prices rose 7.4% on the year in March and 0.8% on the month. This follows an inflation rate of 8.7% in February and January. The decline in the inflation rate was entirely driven by a slowdown in energy prices, which rose only 3.5% compared with March 2022, when energy prices soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ EU countries approve 2035 phaseout of CO2-emitting cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The approval from EU countries' energy ministers means Europe's main climate policy for cars can now enter into force - after weeks of delay caused by last-minute opposition from Germany. The EU law will require all new cars sold to have zero CO2 emissions from 2035, and 55% lower CO2 emissions from 2030, versus 2021 levels. The EU policy had been expected to make it impossible to sell combustion engine cars in the EU from 2035. "The direction of travel is clear: in 2035, new cars and vans must have zero emissions," EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said. Germany's late intervention, after EU countries and lawmakers had already agreed the 2035 phaseout last year, irked some EU diplomats, and stoked concerns that governments may try to block other carefully-negotiated deals on climate policies.

☆ Germany to send additional 12 billion euros in military support to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 29 (Reuters) - The German government has agreed to send an additional 12 billion euros ($13.01 billion) worth of military support to Ukraine. The additional funding includes 3.2 billion euros to be disbursed in 2023 and credit lines for the period between 2024 and 2032 amounting to some 8.8 billion euros. "With the money, Ukraine can directly buy armaments with the support of the German government," three politicians representing the coalition government on the committee said in a statement. "It is important to support Ukraine as long as necessary," they said. Since the start of the Russian invasion, the German government has made available more than 14.2 billion euros in support for Ukraine, according to the foreign office.

☆ German Leopard 2 tanks have reached Ukraine -security source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 27 (Reuters) - The 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks pledged by Germany to support Ukraine in its war against Russia have arrived in Ukraine, a security source said on Monday, confirming a report by Spiegel news magazine. Besides the 18 main battle tanks, 40 German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and two armoured recovery vehicles had also reached Ukraine, the security source said. The German army trained the Ukrainian tank crews as well as the troops assigned to operate the Marder vehicles for several weeks on training grounds in Muenster and Bergen in northern Germany. Beyond the German vehicles, three Leopard tanks donated by Portugal also reached Ukraine, according to the security source. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Rachel More, Editing by Friederike Heine and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Novartis buoyed by trial success in early-stage breast cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Swiss firm's shares jumped 5.8% on Monday to a four-week high by 0734 GMT, after it said a panel of independent supervisors recommended stopping the trial early because an interim analysis had shown a clear benefit. Kisqali has been approved to treat hormone-driven breast cancer that has spread to other body parts, where it has taken market share from Pfizer's (PFE.N) Ibrance. Rival drug Verzenio by Eli Lilly (LLY.N) has approval in the early setting for women at high risk of recurrence after surgery. Kisqali, which saw sales gain 31% to $1.2 billion last year, is one of two new drugs with a particularly important role for the group's future sales growth. Detailed trial results will be presented at a medical conference, Novartis said, without identifying the meeting or its timing.

☆ German business sentiment unexpectedly rises in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 27 (Reuters) - German business morale unexpectedly rose in March, adding to signs that Europe's largest economy is stabilizing despite recent turmoil in the banking sector, a survey showed on Monday. The Ifo institute said its business climate index jumped to 93.3 from a reading of 91.1 in February. The increase in business morale for the fifth month in a row was driven primarily by business expectations, Ifo said. The expectations index rose to 91.2 in March from a revised 88.4 the month before, its highest level in at least a year. Reporting by Miranda Murray, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BERLIN, March 24 (Reuters) - Germany's transport minister on Friday said he was optimistic a dispute between Berlin and Brussels over the future of combustion engine cars running on e-fuels was close to resolution, though some questions still needed clarifying. The original law would effectively ban registration of combustion engine cars after 2035, but Germany seeks an exemption for cars that run exclusively on climate-neutral e-fuel and legal assurances from the Commission. In a letter to the Commission seen by Reuters on Friday, Germany's transport ministry welcomed the EU executive's proposals but asked for legislation to ensure its implementation. Berlin's demand for an exemption had "now been answered by the EU Commission with a letter that makes me optimistic," German Transport Minister Volker Wissing told a news conference on Friday. The European Commission declined to comment on the latest proposals.

☆ Swiss regulator defends its decision to write off AT1 bonds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, March 23 (Reuters) - Switzerland's financial market regulator FINMA defended its decision to impose steep losses on Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) bond holders on Thursday, saying the decision was legally watertight. On Sunday, Switzerland announced a multi-billion franc rescue of Credit Suisse, which will see it taken over by UBS. As part of that deal the Swiss regulator ordered 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.49 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 debt to be written down to zero, while shareholders received some compensation. "The AT1 instruments issued by Credit Suisse contractually provide that they will be completely written down in a 'viability event', in particular if extraordinary government support is granted," FINMA said. "As Credit Suisse received extraordinary liquidity assistance loans secured by a federal default guarantee on 19 March 2023, these contractual conditions were met for the AT1 instruments issued by the bank," it added.

☆ German 'wise ones' see inflation uptick if banking woes halt rate rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Members of the German economic expert council attend a news conference to present the economic prognosis 2022/23, in Berlin, Germany March 22, 2023. "The recent increase in financial market risks has made it more difficult for central banks to fight inflation," the five "wise ones" who advise Berlin on economic policy said in their biannual report. "If the monetary policy response is too weak due to these trade-offs, inflation could remain high for longer than expected or even pick up again," they added. Turmoil in the banking sector culminated in the Swiss regulator-backed takeover of Credit Suisse by rival UBS at the weekend. Inflation will come in at 6.6% in 2023 and 3.0% in 2024, the council predicted.

☆ 'Cannabis in Germany will be a success story': Europe's biggest economy moves closer to weed legalization
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The sale of medical cannabis has been allowed in German pharmacies since 2016 — but several barriers to entry remain, including cost. "Patients, who cannot afford medical cannabis, may self-medicate with adult-use cannabis without medical advice. "An overall de-stigmatization of cannabis as a substance will also lead to a de-stigmatized medical cannabis market," Gallois added. The government is currently undertaking a review of its medical cannabis guidelines, including how it is prescribed and reimbursed under the country's statutory health insurance program. A 'domino effect'The plans come as cannabis legalization has fallen under renewed debate over recent years.

☆ Police officer shot during raids in German Reichsbuerger probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Madeline Chambers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The searches follow raids in December, when German police foiled a plot by members of the Reichsbuerger movement to stage a violent coup and install aristocrat Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss as national leader. One SEK officer was slightly injured and a suspect Reichsbuerger was arrested in Reutlingen during nation-wide raids in the extreme far-right movement. REUTERS/Markus Ulmer 1 2 3 4 5Germany's domestic intelligence service Verfassungsschutz put the Reichsbuerger movement under observation in 2016. The measure is related to the Reichsbuerger scene. "In an exchange of fire, a police officer was shot in the arm," prosecutors said in a statement.

☆ German regulator allows SVB to conduct lending business through local branch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley Bridge Bank (SVB) (SIVBV.UL) has been granted permission to conduct its lending business through its SVB Germany branch, German financial regulator BaFin said on Monday. BaFin had imposed a moratorium on the German branch of SVB in the wake of the U.S. lender's demise and noted the branch had "no systemic relevance". SVB Germany worked with German companies such as HelloFresh (HFGG.DE) and Lilium (5KD.F). Its total assets stood at 789.2 million euros ($846.26 million) at the end of 2022, according to BaFin. SVB Financial filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, about a week after Silicon Valley Bank was shut down in the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.

☆ German producer prices rise more than expected in February
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - German producer prices rose more than expected in February, though the rate of increase eased for the fifth month in a row, signalling that inflation in Europe's largest economy could be starting to wane, according to data released on Monday. Producer prices of industrial products were up 15.8% on the same month last year, the Federal Statistical Office reported, compared with analysts' expectations for the rate of increase to ease to 14.5%. Compared to January, prices fell 0.3%. Apart from energy costs, which were up 27.6% year-on-year, producer prices also rose on the back of price increases for consumer goods, intermediate goods, consumer durables and capital goods, the office said. Reporting by Friederike Heine, Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German minister to visit Taiwan in test of China relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims. The politically sensitive visit will take place at a time when Berlin is reviewing its previously close ties with China. Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also of the FDP, will begin her visit early next week, a ministry spokesperson said. Speaking at a regular news conference in Berlin, the education ministry spokesperson said the agenda during Stark-Watzinger's visit will also include battery research and supply chains. Last year, China condemned a visit to Taiwan by then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-level U.S. visit in 25 years, as a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

☆ Scholz to seek reforms to boost EU competitiveness at Brussels summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, March 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday he will seek to boost European competitiveness through reforms at an EU summit in Brussels next week, including making state aid more flexible and completing capital markets and banking unions. In a speech to the German Bundestag, Scholz urged the European Union to pull together to face a raft of challenges, including in response to a massive U.S. subsidy programme for clean technologies known as the Inflation Reduction Act. The EU is unveiling a Critical Raw Materials Act aimed at keeping pace with the United States and China in access to raw materials. Scholz said raw material security will also top the agenda when he visits Japan for talks this week. Turning to the war in Ukraine, Scholz said that EU member states will agree further measures to improve the continued supply of arms and ammunition to Kyiv, without going into specifics.

Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke, however, warned that supply chain issues, geopolitical strains and rising inflation still presented a challenge for the industry. Porsche AG, historically a huge money spinner for the Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE), which owns 75% minus one ordinary share of the group, is targeting a margin of 17-19% this year with a long-term goal of 20%, it said in a statement. Porsche reported a 27.4% rise in annual operating profit to 6.8 billion euros on revenue of 37.6 billion, slightly undershooting a consensus 6.86 billion in earnings and 38.3 billion in revenue expected by 19 analysts polled by Refinitiv. The logo of German carmaker Porsche AG is seen before the company's annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, March 17, 2017. He also said the company was investing 20 billion euros in digitalisation in the next five years.

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