Germany's energy network regulator on Friday said it would ensure ongoing operations at Gazprom Germania, a trading, storage and transmission business abandoned by Russia's Gazprom, and called on market operators not to cut ties, Reuters reported. With assets and subsidiaries in Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Czech Republic and outside Europe, the firm's activities are essential for the European gas market and its supply to industry and households.
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A company accused by German authorities of supplying authoritarian countries such as Turkey, Egypt and Myanmar with trojan software that could be used to eavesdrop on dissidents has shut down operations and filed for insolvency, the Bloomberg reported. FinFisher GmbH sold spyware to law enforcement and intelligence agencies that allows users to access address books, chat messages, photographs and videos on targeted smartphones as well as listen in on telephone conversations.
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Germany released a report on Friday showing that the country was cutting its dependence on Russian energy sooner than many thought possible, the New York Times reported. Robert Habeck, the vice chancellor and economic minister, said Germany expected to cut its imports of Russian oil in half by the midsummer and nearly end the imports by end of this year. The need for Russian coal could be halved in “the coming weeks,” he said. And he estimated that Germany could be free of Russian gas by the middle of 2024, if all goes well.
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German business morale plummeted in March as companies worried about rising energy prices, driver shortages and the stability of supply chains in the wake of the war in Ukraine, pointing to a possible future recession, a survey showed on Friday, Reuters reported. The Ifo institute said its business climate index dropped to 90.8 in March from a downwardly revised 98.5 in February. A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a March reading of 94.2.
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German retirees will get a hefty pension increase this year, a result largely of higher wages in Europe’s biggest economy as inflation has climbed sharply, the government said Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. The Labor Ministry said pensions will increase by 5.35% in the former West Germany on July 1 and by 6.12% in the formerly communist east. There was no increase in the west last year and an increase of 0.72% in the east as the economy was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
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BMW and Volkswagen warned this week that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is causing shortages of some vital components, forcing them to reduce vehicle production in Europe, the Associated Press reported. The two German carmakers said the war is having a “negative” effect on auto supply chains, which have already been battered by shortages of semiconductors. BMW said Wednesday that bottlenecks at its suppliers in Ukraine have forced the automaker to adjust or interrupt production at a number of factories, which is likely to have a negative impact on vehicle sales figures.
The Munich prosecutors’ office filed a series of charges against former Wirecard AG Chief Executive Officer Markus Braun, Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper reported. Braun was accused of fraud, misappropriation of corporate assets, accounting fraud and market manipulation. Charges were also filed against Oliver Bellenhaus, previously a managing director of a Dubai-based Wirecard unit, and Stephan von Erffa, the former chief accountant and deputy chief financial officer.
Germany has earmarked 200 billion euros ($220 billion) to fund industrial transformation between now and 2026, including climate protection, hydrogen technology and expansion of the electric vehicle charging network, its finance minister said, Reuters reported. "200 billion euros in funding for the transformation of the economy, society and the state," Christian Lindner told public broadcaster ARD on Sunday, adding that this also included the removal of renewable energy levies.
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German annual inflation rose in February after a slight decline at the beginning of the year as the Ukraine conflict pushed energy prices even higher and coronavirus-related supply bottlenecks continued, preliminary data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Consumer prices, harmonised to make them comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries (HICP), rose 5.5% on the year, the Federal Statistics Office said. The national consumer price index (CPI) rose 5.1% year on year after dipping in January to 4.9% from 5.3% in December - the highest rate in almost 30 years.
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Deutsche Lufthansa AG has told pilots that it could launch a new airline to save on costs if negotiations on a new union contract collapse, Bloomberg News reported. While it could lead to walkouts, such a move would be aimed at increasing Lufthansa’s leverage after months of talks that have failed to produce an agreement on pay. A fresh operating certificate would enable the German company to dismiss pilots, cabin crew and ground staff working under the old structure, then offer to rehire them with less costly contracts.
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