Germany

The German government has earned about €300 million from its rescue of the country’s banks, according to a finance ministry estimate that could rekindle the debate about Berlin’s strategy in managing the financial crisis, the Financial Times reported. The ministry told the Financial Times that the government and Soffin, the agency that manages Germany’s €500 billion bank rescue fund, had so far earned about €300 million ($430 million, £260 million) in fees for credit guarantees granted to cash-starved banks at the height of the crisis.

Emergency growth-stimulating policies are still needed to support continental Europe’s fragile economic recovery, even though Germany and France have emerged from recession, a top European Central Bank policymaker has warned. Axel Weber, Germany’s Bundesbank president, made it clear he would not rush to withdraw the extensive measures taken by governments and the ECB – which he said had helped the recent improvement in economic performance in Germany, the Financial Times reported.

Britain was left lagging behind Germany and France today as Europe's two biggest economies officially came out of recession for the first time in a year, The Daily Mail reported. The French and German economies both grew by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of this year, surprising economists who had expected to see a 0.3 per cent fall.

Plans are being drawn up in Germany to allow banks threatened with bankruptcy to be put into receivership administered by the state, according to the draft of a bill obtained by the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, The New York Times DealBook blog reported. The measures would discourage banks from engaging in the riskiest activities on the assumption that public money would bail them out in times of crisis, the newspaper cited the draft as saying.

A consortium of bidders for Opel led by Magna International will make a new offer for the German carmaker on Monday which includes a demand for rights to Opel’s intellectual property, a Russian newspaper reported. Citing a single source, the Russian daily Kommersant said the consortium, which includes Russian state bank Sberbank, would make the new offer “in the form of an ultimatum” and leave the talks if it was not accepted, The New York Times DealBook blog reported.

Germany's government sent a message to General Motors Co. on Wednesday: If GM sells its European car business to anyone other than Magna International Inc., then Germany might withdraw its offer of state aid, The Wall Street Journal reported. The warning comes as German politicians grow increasingly nervous about who will win the auction for GM's European operations, centered on its Opel brand, a major employer in Germany and several other European countries. Germany's strong hint could bolster Magna's chances, despite intense interest from other parties.

General Motors’ plan to sell its European operations to a Canadian auto parts maker and a Russian bank appeared Monday to be in trouble, when another bidder said it was nearing a deal for the unit, The New York Times reported. R.H.J. International, a Brussels-listed industrial holding company, said in a statement that it was in talks with G.M. for the acquisition of a majority stake in the European subsidiary, Adam Opel, which includes the operations of Vauxhall in Britain.

Paris has set aside €100 million in stimulus funds earmarked for what the French like to call their cultural patrimony, The New York Times reported. It is a French twist on how to overcome the global downturn, spending borrowed money avidly to beautify the nation even as it also races ahead of the United States in more classic Keynesian ways: fixing potholes, upgrading railroads and pursuing other “shovel ready” projects.

Arcandor AG's filing for insolvency presents an opportunity to implement restructuring moves for a better future, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The filing for insolvency doesn't mean the end of the troubled retail and tourism company, "but offers the chance for a reasonable restructuring," Merkel said at the Day of Germany's Industry, organized by the BDI Federation of German industries.

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said Tuesday that the German government foresees major restructuring and a wave of mergers for the country's state-owned banks, the Los Angeles Times reported on an Associated Press story. Germany has eight public sector banks, or Landesbanken, owned by regional governments such as Bavaria and Berlin that play a key role in Europe's largest economy by funding local businesses. But big bets on global financial markets and large investments in securitized debt linked to the U.S.