German industrial production fell more than expected in March, partly due to a weak performance by the automotive sector, spurring again recession fears in Europe's largest economy, Reuters reported. Production decreased by 3.4% on the previous month following a slightly revised increase of 2.1% in February, the federal statistical office said on Monday. In a Reuters poll, analysts had pointed to a 1.3% fall. "After a buoyant performance by industrial production at the beginning of the year, there was an unexpectedly sharp decline in March," the economics ministry said.
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Germany
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Tuesday rejected a plan by Economy Minister Robert Habeck to introduce an industrial electricity price, Reuters reported. Such a move would be "economically unwise" and it would contradict market principles to rely on direct state aid as a means to achieve industrial transformation, he wrote in a guest article published by business daily Handelsblatt. The ministry had planned to introduce a concept for industrial electricity pricing this week as part of government efforts to support transition away from fossil fuels.
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The economic problems in the German fashion industry are getting more and more companies into trouble. The men's fashion manufacturer Ahlers announced that it would file for insolvency at the District Court of Bielefeld for Ahlers AG and seven subsidiaries due to impending insolvency, IndoNewYork.com reported. The trigger for the decision was essentially the business development, which was below planning, said company boss Stella Ahlers.
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The European Union is determined to scrap the draconian fiscal rules of the past blamed for choking economies in the aftermath of the previous financial crisis despite Germany’s call for strict limits to reduce public expenditure, Bloomberg News reported. “Clearly we are not getting back to the 1/20th rule” that forced member states to implement severe adjustments to their public debt levels, European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview Friday the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
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Complaints from consumers about banks and other financial firms in Germany rose by a fifth last year, official data shows, as regulators flex their muscles to shore up trust in the sector, Reuters reported. BaFin, Germany's financial watchdog, has been increasing its focus on consumer protection in the wake of the collapse of Wirecard, the blue-chip payment company that folded in an accounting scandal.
German technology and stock photography company EyeEm has reportedly filed for bankruptcy and is insolvent, PetaPixel reported. The company originally set itself apart from competitors through its innovative use of artificial intelligence. But Business Insider in Germany reports that it has filed for bankruptcy, the latest in a string of issues that have plagued the company for the last several years. EyeEm attempted to restructure itself internally in 2020, which resulted in the company’s two founders leaving the business.
Deutsche Telekom now holds a majority in T-Mobile U.S., the chief executive of the German telecoms company said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The company reached a majority stake in T-Mobile U.S late Tuesday, CEO Tim Höttges said at the company's annual general meeting. "We have the majority and are the largest shareholder of the world's most valuable telecommunications company - T-Mobile U.S.," he said. Since 2013, the value of T-Mobile U.S. has increased by 153 billion euros ($167.44 billion).
The German arm of EY, one of the world's Big Four accounting firms, has been fined 500,000 euros ($544,630) after acting as the auditor for collapsed payments company Wirecard and barred from auditing certain kinds of companies for two years, ABC News reported. Germany's APAS accounting oversight body said it imposed the fine for breach of professional duty in auditing Wirecard from 2016-18. It said the decision can be appealed in court, and while it bars the auditor from taking on new companies “of public interest,” it does not prevent it from servicing existing clients.
German retirees' pensions will rise significantly this summer for the second consecutive year, the government said Monday, though the increase will still fall short of the current inflation rate, the Associated Press reported. The Labor Ministry said pensions will increase by 4.39% in the former West Germany on July 1 and by 5.86% in the formerly communist east. That will follow increases last year of 5.35% in the west and 6.12% in the east. Rises in German pensions are linked largely to wage developments.
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Germany's last major department store chain aims to close two-fifths of its branches, months after it filed for insolvency protection for the second time in less than three years, the company's employee council said Monday, the Associated Press reported. The long-troubled Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof plans to shut 52 of its current 129 stores, the council said. It added that the move would cost more than 5,000 jobs, German news agency dpa reported.
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