Germany

Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it aims to buy a minority stake in ITA Airways, seeking to advance an industry consolidation that would give the German airline a stronger foothold in a major European aviation market, Bloomberg News. reported. The German carrier didn’t disclose financial details, or lay out the size of the stake it wishes to buy in the successor of Alitalia SpA. Lufthansa wants to buy as much as 40% of ITA in an initial step and subject to negotiations.

Germany is set to dodge a widely expected recession this year, a source told Reuters on Wednesday, adding to a chorus of voices predicting a brighter outlook for Europe's biggest economy as energy prices fall. Facing soaring gas prices due to the war in Ukraine and supply bottlenecks, consumer prices exploded last year, and the government and economists saw no way around recession. However, a 200-billion-euro relief package to shield consumers from surging energy prices, a mild winter and a readiness to save energy have changed the picture.

The German government's net borrowing amounted to 115.4 billion euros ($124.48 billion) in 2022, finance ministry sources said on Thursday, as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine led to a rise in debt, Reuters reported. Last year, government borrowing was at its third-highest level in the history of Germany, following a record figure of 215.4 billion euros in 2021 and 130.5 billion in 2020, according to the sources. The German government had envisaged net borrowing of 138.9 billion euros in 2022.

More than half Germany's companies are struggling to fill vacancies due to a lack of skilled workers, the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) said on Thursday, in the latest sign of growth headwinds belabouring Europe's largest economy, Reuters reported. The proportion of companies facing difficulties hiring was at its highest ever level, the DIHK found in its survey of 22,000 companies, with 53% reporting shortages.

German landlord Adler Group SA is preparing to overhaul its debt in the UK after getting support from a “sufficient majority” of its creditors for a deal, Bloomberg News reported. The company said it created a new English subsidiary — called AGPS BondCo Plc — as a principal debtor of all its bonds, in a move that will allow it to file a restructuring plan in England, according to a statement. Adler has been negotiating for months with its creditors after it was targeted by a short seller and hit by a slowdown in German property transactions.

German neobank Ruuky has filed for insolvency after failing to raise fresh funds, FinExtra.com reported. Launched three years ago under the brand name Pockid, the firm pivoted a year later under the new name Ruuky, offering an interactive banking app, current account and debit card for European teenagers. While the business claims to have amassed a loyal customer base, counting 250,000 app registrations, it has fallen victim to an ongoing drought in VC funding. The startup had previously raised €4 million from Cavalry Venture and Vorwerk Ventures at a valuation of €16 million.

The chief executive of German utility Uniper SE plans to resign this year after the company, hit hard by Russia’s decision to halt most of its natural-gas exports to Europe, was nationalized by the government, the Wall Street Journal reported. Klaus-Dieter Maubach, who was appointed to the position in 2021, will exercise a special right of termination due to the change of ownership, the company said Tuesday. Uniper’s Chief Operating Officer David Bryson will also depart, using the same right.

German exports unexpectedly fell in November as high inflation and market uncertainty continue to weigh on Europe's largest economy despite fading supply chain problems, Reuters reported. Exports fell by 0.3% on the month, data from the federal statistics office showed on Thursday. November's drop comes after October's figures were revised up, to growth of 0.8% from an initially reported 0.6% fall. Imports also posted a bigger-than-expected drop of 3.3% in November, compared with consensus for a 0.5% decline.

Germany supports the World Bank modifying its country-based business model and is in favour of the Bank setting incentives for issues like climate protection, the German Development Ministry said on Thursday, Reuters reported. On Monday, Reuters reported that the World Bank was seeking to vastly expand its lending capacity to address climate change and other global crises and will negotiate with shareholders ahead of April meetings on proposals that include a capital increase and new lending tools.