German regulators have told Binance they will not grant it a cryptocurrency custody license, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, the latest in a string of setbacks for the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reported. Binance has come under pressure from regulators around the world. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this month sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao over what the regulator called a "web of deception" to evade U.S. laws. Binance denies the charges.
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Germany was set to raise its minimum wage by 3.4% to 12.41 euros ($13.53) an hour from 2024, based on the proposals of government-appointed commission on Monday, although unions and analysts said the hike would not be enough to cover inflation, Reuters reported. Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said he would accept the proposals - which were also for a further 3.3% rise to 12.82 euros an hour from January 2025 - though "I can understand that some wished for more". His approval means the changes will most likely go ahead, raising the wages of almost 6 million people.
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German automotive supplier Allgaier, whose customers include Porsche, has filed for insolvency, a court said on Wednesday, a year after being sold to a Chinese investor, Reuters reported. The Goeppingen district court said that it had appointed Pluta law firm's Fritz Zanker as provisional insolvency administrator. Allgaier, which has about 1,700 employees, supplies major car manufacturers with sheet metal parts and is also active in toolmaking and process engineering.
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More time for debt reduction in new EU fiscal rules would have some advantages but common debt cutting benchmarks are still needed, a draft opinion piece by the German finance minister said, Reuters reported. Fiscal rules underpin the value of the euro by preventing excessive government borrowing, but a surge in public debt caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine has rendered them obsolete and reform is now being discussed.
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NeXR Technologies SE informed that Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini, attorney-at-law specializing in insolvency and reorganization law, GÖRG Insolvenzverwaltung Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB, has been appointed as provisional insolvency administrator for the company after filing for the opening of insolvency proceedings and has commenced his work, according to a press release. The Berlin-Charlottenburg Local Court (Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg), as the competent insolvency court, has appointed Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini to safeguard the insolvency assets.
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German inflation eased to 6.1% in May following several months of declines, even as Europe's biggest economy registered another painful increase in food prices of nearly 15%, the Associated Press reported. Preliminary figures show that the annual inflation rate was lower than the 7.2% registered in April, the Federal Statistical Office said Wednesday. In February, it stood at 8.7%.
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German airline Lufthansa on Thursday signed a deal with the Italian government for a 41-percent minority share in the long-struggling ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia, the Associated Press reported. The deal calls for investments of 575 million euros in capital increases, 325 million euros from Lufthansa and the rest from the Italian Finance Ministry, providing capital for growth. Lufthansa will also have the option of buying the remaining shares at a later date.
The German economy was in recession in early 2023 after household spending in Europe's economic engine finally succumbed to the pressure of high inflation, Reuters reported. Gross domestic product fell by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year when adjusted for price and calendar effects, a second estimate from the statistics office showed on Thursday. This follows a decline of 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022. A recession is commonly defined as two successive quarters of contraction.
German industrial production fell more than expected in March, partly due to a weak performance by the automotive sector, spurring again recession fears in Europe's largest economy, Reuters reported. Production decreased by 3.4% on the previous month following a slightly revised increase of 2.1% in February, the federal statistical office said on Monday. In a Reuters poll, analysts had pointed to a 1.3% fall. "After a buoyant performance by industrial production at the beginning of the year, there was an unexpectedly sharp decline in March," the economics ministry said.
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German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Tuesday rejected a plan by Economy Minister Robert Habeck to introduce an industrial electricity price, Reuters reported. Such a move would be "economically unwise" and it would contradict market principles to rely on direct state aid as a means to achieve industrial transformation, he wrote in a guest article published by business daily Handelsblatt. The ministry had planned to introduce a concept for industrial electricity pricing this week as part of government efforts to support transition away from fossil fuels.
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