The number of unemployed people in Germany rose slightly in December, by much less than analysts had expected, labour office figures showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The Federal Labour Office said the number of people out ofwork increased by 5,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.703 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the total to rise by 20,000. "The labour market is still holding up well in terms of the extent of the burdens and uncertainties," said Andrea Nahles, chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency.
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In an alarming development, German hospitals are grappling with an unprecedented wave of insolvencies, threatening the stability and efficacy of the nation’s health care system, BNN reported. According to recent reports from the German Hospital Association, there has been a significant uptick in bankruptcies, with almost 40 hospitals going insolvent in 2023 alone. If projections hold, this figure could see a two-fold increase in 2024, heralding a potential health care crisis. Surveys paint a somber picture for the future of Germany’s health care system.
Digital freight forwarding platform, Instafreight, has filed for insolvency in mid-December at the Berlin-Charlottenburg district court, BNNBreaking.com reported. The startup, founded in 2016 by Philipp Ortwein and Gion-Otto Presser-Velder, had successfully raised over 70 million euros in capital over its operational years. Still, the company ran into a financial cul-de-sac due to over-indebtedness, an ironic situation considering it did not face any liquidity issues.
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Prosecutors in Germany said on Wednesday they would move to confiscate more than 720 million euros ($790 million) from the Frankfurt bank account of a Russian financial institution, marking the country's first such attempt, Reuters reported. German authorities have previously moved to freeze Russian assets in response to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but have stopped short of attempts to confiscate money.
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Germany's economy is likely to shrink again slightly in the current fourth quarter, the country's central bank said Monday, while a survey showed business confidence retreating unexpectedly, the Associated Press reported. Europe’s biggest economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter after growing by the same amount in the previous three-month period, according to official figures.
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Nearly a month after a court ruling left a hole in Germany’s 2024 budget, the government in Berlin introduced a new spending plan that included cuts in programs to address climate change, but confirmed its commitment to 8 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in direct military aid to Ukraine, the New York Times reported. The new budget will comply with the constitutional rules against taking on new debt, the government said. "We are forging ahead with the climate-neutral transformation of our country. We are strengthening social cohesion.
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The German government will not be able to finalise its 2024 budget before the end of the year, a senior ruling party official said on Thursday, as a fractious coalition tries to narrow differences on fixing a budget hole, Reuters reported. "This is however not a crisis," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said, playing down the need to get the budget through parliament before the end of the year. "I have realised that the coalition partners have very ambitious timetables," Lindner said on Thursday in Brussels.
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Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino expressed hope an agreement on the reform of EU fiscal rules could be clinched as soon as Thursday evening, while her German counterpart said he thought a deal was possible this week, Reuters reported. EU finance ministers are discussing changes to the rules on Thursday and Friday, aiming to agree on a joint position that would then be negotiated with the European Parliament early in 2024. Spain holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
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Germany's coalition partners intensified efforts on Wednesday to find a way to plug a 17-billion-euro ($18.3 billion) hole in next year's budget after failing to resolve the crisis overnight, increasing uncertainty about financial plans in Europe's biggest economy, Reuters reported. The failure of talks between coalition leaders before Wednesday means it is unlikely parliament will approve a 2024 budget by the end of the year, leaving in limbo spending plans from climate projects to benefits and for local authorities.
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A German court has called upon the lawyer of former Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek, who has been on the run since the implosion of the German payments company, to testify next Wednesday in Germany's biggest post-war fraud trial, Reuters reported. Wirecard became the first-ever DAX member to file for insolvency in 2020, owing creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro ($2.13 billion) hole in its accounts.
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