Deutsche Lufthansa AG repaid the last of its 9 billion-euro ($10.3 billion) bailout ahead of schedule, paving the way for the German government to sell its stake in the airline group for a significant profit, Bloomberg News reported. A recovery in international travel and successful refinancing measures allowed the airline to return the taxpayer cash, it said in a statement Friday. The state stands to net close to $1 billion in profit once it sells its 14% holding over the next two years. “It was good business for the treasury,” German finance minister Olaf Scholz said in a statement.

Germany’s export-oriented economy used to be a reliable engine for pulling Europe out of slumps. Now, as the continent emerges from a pandemic torpor, Germany is lagging behind, the Wall Street Journal reported. German manufacturers are struggling to produce cars and factory equipment because of parts and labor shortages. They face surging energy prices that are making sky-high electricity bills even higher. And they must invest hundreds of billions of dollars over coming years to meet new clean-energy standards.

Germany’s future government plans to let the country’s pension system invest in the capital markets for the first time in what would be a small revolution in how Europe’s largest economy manages money for its growing ranks of retirees, Bloomberg News reported. Negotiators for the Social Democrats, Greens and the market-oriented Free Democrats are seeking to hammer out details that would allow the $400 billion pension system to start investing some of its reserves into stocks and bonds, which would bring it more in line with other advanced economies.

German consumers face a rise in prices for goods across the board as more and more companies in Europe's largest economy pass on higher production costs, driven by widespread supply shortages and a spike in energy prices, Reuters reported. While the development is helping firms to improve corporate margins after the coronavirus shock, consumers are feeling the pinch of higher prices, which could hurt household spending and ultimately domestic demand if wage growth is not keeping up.

German power retailer Ziegler Strom-Vertrieb said on Thursday it would stop delivering to customers in Kappelrodeck in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg at the end of 2021 due to spiralling wholesale prices, Reuters reported. It is the second small power supplier in Germany this week to announce it will stop operating due to the surge in gas prices. “With our procurement conditions, we can no longer offer customers market-compatible prices,” Ziegler said in a notice on its website.

Frankfurt Hahn Airport, a German international budget flights hub, has filed for insolvency, according to a court filing published on Tuesday, Reuters reported. It was not immediately clear how the insolvency would affect flight operations. The airport, which is primarily used by low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and cargo airlines and served about 1.5 million passengers in 2019, is 82.5% owned by Chinese airport group HNA, while the German state of Hesse has a 17.5% stake.

Germany will cut a power surcharge levied on consumers to support renewable energy by 42.7% to help households cope with soaring energy prices, network operators said on Friday, Reuters reported. Germany and other governments in Europe are seeking to provide relief for consumers as gas prices skyrocket. The reduction in the German levy, to 3.723 euro cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), confirms a Reuters report on Thursday. It will not take effect until Jan. 1. read more The government will help fund the cut with 3.25 billion euros ($3.77 billion) in revenue collected from carbon taxes.

Otima Energie, a small German power and gas retail company, on Wednesday declared itself insolvent, the latest victim of soaring energy prices, while E.ON, Entega and EnBW temporarily withdrew their gas deals from price comparison portal Verivox. Suppliers across Europe are struggling with rocketing prices due to factors ranging from insatiable Asian demand to Europe's carbon policy and a period of lighter winds.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG paid off a chunk of the German government’s remaining bailout package, eliminating part of its so-called silent participation support with 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) of the money it raised in a rights offering last week, Bloomberg News reported. The 2.16 billion-euro equity raise is now completed and new shares issued, Lufthansa said Monday in a statement. The company plans to repay a remaining 1-billion-euro silent participation to Germany’s Economic Stabilization Fund by year-end.

TUI AG will raise 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) by selling new stock, making it the latest travel company to tap investors for cash to reduce a giant pandemic debt pile, Bloomberg News reported. The share sale, at a discount price of 2.15 euros each in a rights offering, will allow the world’s biggest tour operator to reduce its draw on a state-backed rescue loan to zero, TUI said Wednesday in a statement. Airlines have been selling stock to firm up balance sheets as easing border restrictions begin to revive bookings.