Germany will give financial assistance to customers hit by the insolvency of Thomas Cook because the tour operator’s insurance cover has proved insufficient, Reuters reported today. “Damages that are not compensated by other parties will be settled by the federal government,” it said in a statement, confirming a report by broadcaster ARD. Insurer Zurich’s liability is capped at 110 million euros ($121 million) but it has already registered claims worth 250 million and experts estimate total claims will reach 300 million to 500 million euros, ARD said.

The two-year recession in German industry is showing few signs of ending after orders in the country’s manufacturing sector fell more than expected in October with a further shrinkage expected in November, the Financial Times reported. Provisional figures published on Thursday showed that new manufacturing orders fell by 0.4 per cent in October, compared with the previous month, according to the Federal Statistics Office. Economists polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 0.3 per cent.

Ailing conglomerate Thyssenkrupp has worked out a new strategy for the group’s steel business, a leading labor representative said on Tuesday, adding the roadmap included significant investments but also restructuring steps, Reuters reported. The strategy paper was presented to the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe on Tuesday, following labor protests at the division’s headquarters in Duisburg, in the heart of the Ruhr area, Germany’s industrial heartland.

A recent apology to Mario Draghi by Germany’s top central banker has highlighted a pressing concern in the eurozone’s largest economy about the European Central Bank: that criticism of its monetary policies is going too far and risks creating a domestic backlash, the Financial Times reported. Jens Weidmann, the Bundesbank president, said sorry to Mr Draghi after a broadside against the ECB’s stimulus package in September, which was delivered in an interview with Bild, Germany’s best-selling newspaper.

German energy group Innogy on Thursday said it was continuing to lose clients in Britain, where a price cap has increased pressure on the ‘Big Six’ energy providers, Reuters reported. Npower, Innogy’s British retail unit, lost 261,000 customers during the third quarter, bringing total customer losses to 447,000 so far this year. The division posted a nine-month adjusted operating loss of 167 million euros ($184 million). Npower’s problems will soon be an issue for German utility E.ON.

Thyssenkrupp’s new boss scrapped the German industrial group’s dividend, warned of deeper losses and asked investors for yet more patience over its turnaround, sending shares in the conglomerate down as much as 14.5% on Thursday, Reuters reported. The moves immediately turned up the pressure on Martina Merz, who served as chairwoman before taking over as CEO, to quickly sell the company’s elevators business - a prize asset it has put on the block to try to mend its finances.

Germany’s banks are facing an even tougher outlook thanks to a combination of negative interest rates and a slowing domestic economy, the Bundesbank and rating agency Moody’s warned on Thursday.

A co-operative bank has become the first German lender to pass on the cost of negative interest rates to new retail customers with small deposits, in the latest sign of how the European Central Bank’s policy is upending the country’s banking sector, the Financial Times reported. Volksbank Fürstenfeldbruck, which is located 30km west of Munich and has just €1.8bn in assets, said that it will collect a “depositary charge” of -0.5 per cent on instant access savings accounts with deposits of €1 and above.

The German economy has defied expectations of a recession by growing 0.1 per cent in the third quarter as higher spending by households and the government offset a downturn in its export-focused manufacturing sector, the Financial Times reported. The mildly positive growth in the third quarter means the German economy has avoided a technical recession.

Trips and holidays by Thomas Cook Germany with a departure date of Jan. 1, 2020 or later, "cannot be commenced" even if they had already been partially or fully paid for, the tour operator announced on Tuesday, Xinhuanet reported. "We are so sorry that we have to deliver this message to our customers with departure in the new year," said Stefanie Berk, chairwoman of the management board of Thomas Cook Germany. Among others, the tour operators that are affected were Thomas Cook Signature, Thomas Cook Signature Finest Selection, Neckermann Reisen and Oeger Tours.