A once-lucrative business within Deutsche Bank AG catering to hedge funds is on its way to becoming yet another casualty of the German lender’s chronic turmoil, Bloomberg News reported. The German firm’s revenue from prime services declined for a third straight year in 2018, while rivals Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all saw jumps, according to people with knowledge of the business.

Industrial production in the eurozone showed signs of stabilisation in January across sectors and in most countries, despite a contraction in Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy, the Financial Times reported. Output in the region rose 1.4 per cent from the previous month, rebounding from a decline of 0.9 per cent in December, better than a forecast from analysts in a Reuters poll of 1.0 per cent expansion, Eurostat figures revealed on Wednesday.

A sharp drop in German industrial production has added to fears that the country’s manufacturing slowdown has extended into 2019 and will weigh on the eurozone economy, the Financial Times reported. Industrial output fell 0.8 per cent in January, Germany’s statistics office said on Monday, in an indication of the threat to exports from weaker global demand and political uncertainty. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the data to show a rise of 0.5 per cent.

German taxpayers could be left more than 600 million euros ($680 million) out of pocket in outstanding credit to Airbus for developing the A380 superjumbo, the Funke Mediengruppe will report on Monday citing an economy ministry statement, excerpts approved for release showed. Berlin loaned Airbus 942 million euros in 2002 in connection with the A380’s development, of which only a third has been repaid, the media group cited the statement as saying.

Probably the single biggest geopolitical issue for the EU right now, and especially for Germany, is future relations with China, the Financial Times reported. The two countries do have a lot in common. Both are export-driven economies with large external savings surpluses. But Germany’s economic strategy is not nearly as consistent. The German political preference is to reduce public debt. Yet the country’s biggest problem is falling behind in the technological race.

Business confidence in Germany this month slid to its lowest level since December 2014 in the latest sign of weakness in the Eurozone’s largest economy, the Financial Times reported. Financiers views soured on both the current economic conditions and the country’s future outlook, according to the latest business climate index published by the Ifo Institute think tank. The gauge fell more sharply than expected to 98.5 in February from a revised level of 99.3 in January. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 99.

Europe’s largest telecoms companies have issued mixed guidance for the coming financial year, warning of slower growth due to competition and continued uncertainty. Deutsche Telekom, the continent’s largest telecoms group by value, has been hit by questions over whether regulators will approve its plan to acquire US rival Sprint this year, as well as the impact of an impending spectrum auction.

German manufacturing activity dropped to its lowest level since 2012 in February according to a closely-watched survey, but the country’s services sector remained resilient, the Financial Times reported. The purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector dropped to 47.6 in February, the lowest level since December 2012 and well below the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters for 49.7. A reading below 50 indicates that a sector is in contraction.

German financial executives do not expect the slowdown in the eurozone’s biggest economy to cease any time soon, according to a closely watched survey released on Tuesday that showed a persisting decline in confidence, the Financial Times reported. The Zew Indicator of Current Conditions in Germany fell 12.6 points month-on-month to 15 in February, its lowest point since 2014 and well below expectations for 23 according to analysts polled by Reuters. That follows a steep fall, to a four-year low, in January.

The recapitalization of Germany’s NordLB bank should be investigated by the European Commission as it likely involved state aid that might have violated European Union rules, two EU lawmakers said on Tuesday. The lender, which has been struggling for years due to its exposure to the crisis-hit shipping industry, said in February that the German regional state of Lower Saxony and Saxony Anhalt had decided to go ahead with a recapitalization, also backed by German savings banks, Reuters reported.