Postal and logistics company Deutsche Post AG said Thursday that its DHL express unit is expected to lose 400 jobs in Germany after the closure of mail-order business Quelle, part of bankrupt retailer Arcandor AG, Forbes reported on an Associated Press story. The Bonn-based Post said it planned to close three German logistics locations in Bochum, Nuremberg and Lehrte that worked as the sole logistics provider for Quelle. It was still unclear when the DHL employees would lose their positions, Deutsche Post said.

Attempts to rescue Quelle, the German mail order company founded in 1927, have failed and it now looks set to be liquidated, causing the loss of thousands of jobs, Spiegel Online reported. No investor could be found after parent company Arcandor filed for insolvency in June. The news has shocked the retailer's workforce. Quelle's parent company, Arcandor, filed for insolvency in June after its request for state aid was rejected.

The German government said Monday it is hopeful of overcoming European Union worries about General Motors Co.'s deal to sell its Opel subsidiary to a Canadian-Russian consortium, and argued that there was no need to review the bidding process, The Associated Press reported. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes last week voiced concern over Germany's plans to provide €4.5 billion ($6.7 billion) to support the takeover of Opel by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank.

The European Commission voiced concern Friday over Germany's planned aid for a consortium led by Canadian-based Magna International to take a majority stake in carmaker Opel and suggested that General Motors Co. be allowed to "reconsider" the deal, The Canadian Press reported. Germany offered aid worth US$6.7 billion to support the deal, and hopes other European countries that have Opel plants will contribute to that financing. Adam Opel GmbH has its headquarters in Ruesselsheim, Germany.

The U.K. and Belgium on Monday demanded the European Commission scrutinize the sale of General Motors Co.'s European operations to a consortium led by car-parts maker Magna International Inc. to ensure that rules on government aid aren't breached, The Wall Street Journal reported. The governments of both nations fear that GM factories in their countries will bear the burden of job losses that the deal will bring. Magna confirmed Monday it plans to cut 10,500 jobs from GM Europe's work force of about 50,000.

Even as France and Germany begin to show signs of economic recovery, weaker members of the European common-currency union remain mired in recession, The Wall Street Journal reported. The euro is at its strongest level against the dollar this year, and interest rates suggest investor fears over a debt default by a euro-zone member have eased since earlier in the year. Despite this, the euro zone's toughest times could lie ahead. To understand why, it is worth taking a look at Spain.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is having to defend the sale of the troubled carmaker Opel to a Canadian-Russian consortium, just days after hailing the deal, The New York Times reported. Criticism grew sharper over the weekend on the terms of the deal, which was announced on Thursday in Berlin, beginning with unions that said more jobs would be cut than expected. Among the most vocal critics were government representatives of the Opel Trust, which was established in May to oversee the search for a buyer of 65 percent of Opel.

Spansion Inc. has asked a bankruptcy judge to put a halt to a patent infringement suit filed against it in Germany by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. over the manufacture and sale of flash memory chips, citing the automatic stay in the technology company's bankruptcy proceedings, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Frederick "Fritz" Henderson won't make a specific recommendation on what to do with the company's Opel unit when he meets with GM directors Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said, The Wall Street Journal reported. The new board, conducting only its second formal meeting since it was formed after GM's July release from bankruptcy protection, could ultimately decide to postpone a decision on the German operations until later in September, these people said.

The leaders of Germany, France and the U.K. called Thursday for the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations to look at ways to cap bankers' bonuses and come up with rules on remuneration in the financial sector at its summit in Pittsburgh Sept. 24, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move marks a change from U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s previous stance regarding imposing mandatory caps on bankers' bonuses. While he agreed with France and Germany on the need to link bonuses to the bank's long-term performance, and not to short-term speculative gains, Mr.