The German government is preparing to lend billions to rescue a former arm of Gazprom PJSC now under the control of the country’s energy regulator, Bloomberg News reported. A bailout for Gazprom Germania GmbH could come as early as this week, with state-owned bank KfW Group expected to issue a loan in the range of 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) to 10 billion euros, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Talks are still ongoing and plans could change.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck plans to present concrete proposals to tighten the nation's antitrust laws and give the Federal Cartel Office more powers, according to a position paper circulated by his ministry on Sunday, Reuters reported. The move comes amid his concerns that energy companies are not passing on to consumers a recent cut in tax on fuel that was enacted to help offset soaring inflation. The ministry foresees reducing hurdles to confiscate profits and giving the cartel office additional powers to intervene, according to the document dated June 11.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday he wants to join employers and labor unions in a “concerted action” to find ways of cushioning the effects of rising prices while preventing a spiral of inflation in Europe’s biggest economy, the Associated Press reported. Germany, like other countries in Europe and beyond, already has seen inflation accelerate sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up fuel and food prices. An official estimate this week showed the country’s annual inflation rate jumping to 7.9% in May, the highest rate since the winter of 1973-1974.

Boris Becker has reportedly been transferred to a prison used to detain foreign criminals, indicating he will be deported from the UK at the end of his sentence, the Guardian reported. According to the Times, Becker’s lawyer told journalists in Berlin that he had been transferred to HMP Huntercombe in Oxfordshire. The former world No. 1 tennis player had been detained at Wandsworth prison, a category B prison, after he was jailed for two and a half years for concealing £2.5m of assets to avoid paying money he owed after his bankruptcy. He will serve half of the sentence.

Germany plans to order coal-fired power plants that were due to be shut down to be placed in reserve, as part of a plan to ensure the country can keep the lights on if supplies of natural gas from Russia are abruptly cut, the New York Times reported. A bill drawn up this week by the economy ministry, led by Robert Habeck, a member of the Greens, envisions maintaining power plants that burn coal and brown coal, or lignite, so they could by fired up on short notice. The proposed regulation, if adopted, would remain in place through March 31, 2024.

The German economy, Europe's largest, is on track for a tepid economic recovery but risks are tilted to the downside and fiscal policy should be flexible in an uncertain environment, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday, Reuters reported. In a statement after a mission to Germany, the IMF said it projected growth to slow to about 2% in 2022, picking up in 2023 to slightly above 2% if energy prices and supply bottlenecks subside, and COVID-19 infections remain under control. "Growth would then decline toward potential after 2024," the IMF said in its so-called Article IV report.

Holiday group TUI on Tuesday unveiled a capital increase to pay back elements of a German state bailout that it had received during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported. The company will issue up to 162,291,441 new shares, which, based on Tuesday's closing price of 2.89 euros apiece, would result in proceeds of up to 469 million euros ($494 million). TUI said that it planned to use the proceeds as well as existing cash resources to fully repay the second installment of a so-called silent participation of the German government in the order of 671 million euros.

CargoLogic Germany applied for insolvency restructuring on May 10, nearly two months after it was banned from operating in German airspace due to its alleged links to Russian Volga-Dnepr Group, Ch-Aviation.com reported. The District Court of Leipzig has appointed Lucas Flöther as the provisional administrator. He has ample experience with distressed airlines, having overseen the insolvencies of Air Berlin, Niki (Austria), Condor, and SundAir. "We are checking whether it is possible to resume flight operations as quickly as possible, taking into account the sanctions.

European natural gas prices jumped as some shipments from Russia were disrupted, and Germany said Moscow was using energy as a weapon in an escalating clash over supply, Bloomberg News reported. The benchmark contract surged 14% as flows from Russia via Ukraine fell further Thursday following interruptions at a cross-border entry point as a result of the war. It adds to the market’s concerns, as Moscow retaliates to Europe’s penalties with a slew of its own curbs targeting some gas companies in the region.

German officials are quietly preparing for any sudden halt in Russian gas supplies with an emergency package that could include taking control of critical firms, Reuters reported. The preparations being led by the Ministry for Economic Affairs show the heightened state of alert about supplies of the gas that powers Europe's biggest economy and is critical for the production of steel, plastics and cars. Russian gas accounted for 55% of Germany's imports last year and Berlin has come under pressure to unwind a business relationship that critics says is helping to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.