Germany’s unemployment rate held steady in the last month of 2025, though actual jobless numbers inched higher, signaling an economy that still lacks momentum, the Wall Street Journal reported. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% in December, where it has been since March, data from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency published Wednesday said. However, the rate is higher than the start of last year, and there are signals that the German economy is on a weak footing heading into 2026.

The German subsidiaries of the Belgian chemical company DOMO Chemicals - DOMO Chemicals, DOMO Caproleuna and DOMO Engineering Plastics - have filed for insolvency, CHEManager-Online.com reported. The three German companies concerned belong to DOMO Chemicals, a family-run group of companies headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. The group manufactures and markets polymers, engineering plastics and high-performance fibers worldwide for customers in the automotive industry, for consumer and industrial goods as well as electrical engineering and electronics.

Klöckner Pentaplast announced yesterday that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has confirmed its reorganization plan, PlasticsToday.com reported. The plan, according to the company, was developed and financed with the support of an ad hoc group of its first-lien lenders and noteholders. Upon completion of the restructuring, Klöckner Pentaplast said it will reduce approximately €1.3B ($1.5B) of funded debt.

A renowned German distillery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, recognized internationally for its premium spirits, has initiated insolvency proceedings due to severe economic challenges, The Munich Eye reported. The distillery, known for producing high-quality gin, rum, and liqueurs, has faced mounting financial difficulties despite accumulating over 180 international awards since its establishment in 2014.

German car exports to the United States slumped by almost 14% in the first three quarters of 2025, making it the hardest-hit branch of German industry in U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, according to a study seen by Reuters on Monday. Under an agreement between Washington and Brussels, the U.S. set a 15% baseline tariff on cars from Europe from August 1 - significantly less than Trump's initial rate of 25% on top of a 2.5% existing levy. German engineering companies have also struggled under the tariff regime, with the study showing exports in that sector to the U.S.

Höfner, the German instrument maker whose iconic Violin Bass was famously played by Paul McCartney, has reportedly filed for bankruptcy, Guitar World reported. The news comes from No Treble, which cites court documents from the Fürth District Court in Bavaria in its report. The filing states that “preliminary insolvency proceedings will be ordered on December 10, 2025, at 5:05pm” to safeguard the debtor’s assets from “adverse changes”. Dr.

German prosecutors charged two former board members of Greensill Bank AG for their roles in the 2021 demise of the lender, Bloomberg News reported. The men are charged with bankruptcy crimes and false accounting, a spokesman for Bremen prosecutors said in an emailed statement. A member of the unit’s supervisory board was also indicted. The statement didn’t identify any of the accused. (Subscription required.) Read more.

German insurers are the most exposed in Europe to illiquid corporate bonds, a top watchdog said in one of the most detailed reports to date on the industry’s investments in private credit. At €91.8 billion ($108 billion), more than 40% of German insurers’ bond holdings were in unlisted notes at the end of last year, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority said on Monday in Frankfurt. Excluding index- or unit-linked investments, European insurers held about €1.2 trillion of corporate bonds, of which some 13% were illiquid or unlisted.