German factory orders climbed surprisingly sharply in March, reflecting the stockpiling of goods in the U.S. to get ahead of tariffs placed by the Trump administration in the following month, the Wall Street Journal reported. Manufacturing orders jumped 3.6% on month at the end of the first quarter, after flatlining in February, German statistics agency Destatis said Wednesday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected a 1.0% uptick. Despite the increase, new orders were 2.3% lower in the first quarter than in the final three months of 2024, Destatis said.

Mark Branson, the president of Germany's bank watchdog BaFin, said on Wednesday that the nation's financial firms were in a strong position but that uncertainty would remain extremely high, Reuters reported. "The possibility that problems in the non-banking sector have an impact on banks cannot be ruled out just because we have weathered the turbulence well so far," Branson said. Read more.

The Freital glassworks produces bottles and glasses for juice, wine and more. But a new investor is being sought for the insolvent glassworks in Freital near Dresden, diesachsen.de reported. The first interested parties from various countries have already come forward, according to the law firm in charge of the restructuring. The prospects for a successful reorganization are good, emphasized lawyer Matthias Rönsch. Business operations have remained stable since filing for insolvency and the company has a healthy core.

German battery pioneer CustomCells has filed for insolvency proceedings for the group’s key operating entities located in Itzehoe and Tübingen, BatteriesNews.com reported. The competent court in Kiel has appointed attorney Dr. Malte Köster, a partner at the law firm WILLMERKÖSTER, as the preliminary insolvency administrator of the operating companies. WILLMERKÖSTER is one of the leading insolvency law firms in Germany. The holding company of the CustomCells Group is not affected by the insolvency filing at this time.

The German economy grew in the first quarter of the year thanks to consumption and investment, escaping a recession after contracting in the last quarter of last year, data showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Gross domestic product rose in line with forecasts, by 0.2%, compared with the previous three-month period, preliminary data from the statistics office showed. Germany had contracted in the final quarter of last year by 0.2%, reigniting recession fears. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Germany is loosening a regulatory measure designed to soften the blow of a property crisis, a sign that officials are somewhat less worried about fallout from the nation’s troubled real-estate industry, Reuters reported. BaFin, the German financial regulator, said on Wednesday that it would trim to 1% from 2% the amount it requires banks to hold as capital for residential mortgage loans. “The vulnerabilities on the German real estate market have declined significantly, but have not yet been fully eliminated,” BaFin said.

German meats supplier Allgäu Fresh Foods (AAF) has filed for insolvency protection proceedings amid “increasing” cost pressures, GlobalData reported. In a statement announcing the move, the company said it submitted the application to the competent district court in Kempten on 22 April. The Feneberg Group subsidiary said cost and price pressures have been “increasing simultaneously” in this business segment for many years. “To ensure continued success in the future, the company must implement extensive restructuring.

Reducing uncertainty is urgent for economies and businesses, German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies said on Wednesday, talking about negotiations on trade tariffs with the United States, Reuters reported. "The longer we wait for an agreement, the longer we let the uncertainty (in) both of our economies linger," he said at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington. Germany was the only member of the Group of Seven advanced economies that failed to grow for the last two years, and the tariffs announced by U.S.

CPU cooler maker Scythe may be in deep trouble, as reports suggest the company’s EU division is potentially on the verge of shutting down, TomsHardware.com reported. According to German tech portal Computer Base, CPU coolers from the manufacturer have been in short supply. The primary reason given is that the company's EU division has run out of money and filed for insolvency. As noted by the Consumer Protection Forum, on April 17, 2025, the district court in Reinbek, Germany, issued a "provisional insolvency administration" for Scythe EU GmbH.

Business activity in Germany's private sector has contracted this month, hurt by service sector woes and trade-related uncertainty, although manufacturers are showing some resilience, a survey showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The HCOB German flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 49.7 in April from 51.3 in March, its lowest point since December and back below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction.