More than 8,000 businesses in Germany have gone bust this year, according to recent data released by the Federal Statistical Office, TheLocal.de reported. In August of this year, the number of regular insolvency proceedings filed increased by 13.8 percent compared to the same month the previous year. This follows a 23.8 percent increase reported in July 2023. The Wiesbaden-based agency said it was important to note that proceedings are included in official statistics only after the initial decision by the insolvency court, which often comes three months after the insolvency application date.

Investor confidence in Germany’s economy improved for a second month, while lingering at a level that will do little to dispel intensifying concerns over the country’s status as Europe’s growth laggard, Bloomberg News reported. The ZEW institute’s gauge of expectations rose to -11.4 in September from -12.3 in August. While that’s better than economists in a Bloomberg survey had predicted, it’s still well below a longer-term average for the indicator. An index of current conditions worsened to -79.4.

Germany’s embattled economy, once Europe’s main engine of growth, looks set for a fresh contraction as its all-important manufacturing sector continues to weaken, the Wall Street Journal reported. After stagnating since the end of last year, Germany’s output is likely to contract this quarter as its factories face higher energy costs, a less welcoming global marketplace and intense competition from China in key sectors, recent data shows. The country was hit hard by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which caused a surge in energy and food prices.

German inflation fell only slightly in August, data showed on Wednesday, but economists expect the downward trend in headline inflation to gain pace in the coming months, Reuters reported. Consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, increased by 6.4% on the year this month, according to preliminary data from the federal statistics office. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast harmonised annual inflation of 6.3% after a reading of 6.5% in July.

Inflation slowed less than expected in Germany and quickened in Spain, offering European Central Bank officials a partial picture of the region’s price pressures as they judge whether to raise interest rates again, Bloomberg News reported. The numbers published Wednesday point to the possibility of a robust outcome when the euro-zone report is released the following day — data policymakers have highlighted as crucial to their Sept. 14 decision. Consumer prices in Germany, the region’s biggest economy, rose 6.4% in August from a year earlier.

Two decades ago, Germany revived its moribund economy and became a manufacturing powerhouse of an era of globalization. Times changed. Germany didn’t keep up. Now Europe’s biggest economy has to reinvent itself again. But its fractured political class is struggling to find answers to a dizzying conjunction of long-term headaches and short-term crises, leading to a growing sense of malaise, the Wall Street Journal reported. Germany will be the world’s only major economy to contract in 2023, with even sanctioned Russia experiencing growth, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Germany's rail workers will not go on open-ended strikes after less than 50% of union members voted in favor, German news agency dpa reported Monday. A vote of 75% in favor would have been necessary for all-out strike action, the Associated Press reported. A majority of workers also voted in favor of a recommendation that emerged from arbitration between EVG and the rail operator, Deutsche Bahn. The compromise deal includes a pay increase of 410 euros ($443) per month in two stages over a period of 25 months.

Germany's economy stagnated in the second quarter from the previous three months, showing no sign of recovery from a winter recession and cementing its position as one of the world's weakest major economies, Reuters reported. The figure of zero growth for the second quarter was in line with a first estimate published in late July. Year on year, adjusted GDP contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter. Quarter on quarter, economic activity had fallen by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022 and by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2023.

German business activity contracted at the fastest pace for more than three years in August, a preliminary survey showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The HCOB German Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, fell to 44.7 from July's 48.5, hitting its lowest since May 2020 and confounding analysts' expectations for a reading of 48.3. The indicator was below the 50 level denoting growth in activity for the second consecutive month.

The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday said it will set preliminary anti-dumping duties on tin-plated steel from Canada, Germany and China, in a move to shield domestic steelmakers that will prompt warnings of higher prices for cans made from the steel and the foods, paint and other products they contain, Reuters reported. The department said it will propose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 122.5% on tin mill steel imported from China, 7.02% on imports from Germany and 5.29% on imports from Canada. A formal Federal Register notice is expected later on Thursday.