Levels of stress at German companies hit the highest level in almost four years, as Europe’s biggest economy faces a sustained period of slower growth, Bloomberg News reported. German corporate distress was the highest since 2020 at the start of this year, according to research published on Thursday. The study, by law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, aggregates data from more than 3,750 listed European firms. “German corporates continued to experience the highest levels of distress,” when compared to the UK, France, Spain and Italy, the Weil report said.
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German manufacturing orders edged up in February, reflecting only a moderate rebound as demand for goods remains sluggish, the Wall Street Journal reported. Orders were 0.2% higher than the prior month, German statistics office Destatis said Friday. Orders collapsed by a revised 11.4% on month in January, a large decline that evened out a steep rise in December that was primarily driven by aircraft orders from manufacturer Airbus. In a less volatile three-month-by-three-month period, orders climbed 2.8%.
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Germany's only remaining major department store chain is set to get new owners after its third spell in bankruptcy protection in four years, and the company aims to keep most of its stores open, its insolvency administrator said Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is to be taken over by a consortium of U.S. private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners, which currently has investments in Hudson's Bay of Canada and Saks Fifth Avenue among others, and German businessman Bernd Beetz's BB Kapital SA.
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A consortium including Hudson's Bay Company CEO Richard Baker's investment firm NRDC Corp is set to take over German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Galeria, Germany's most prominent retailer, earlier this year filed for insolvency following the collapse of its parent Signa, the Austria-based property empire that has become the biggest casualty so far in Europe's real-estate crisis. Baker's Hudson's Bay Company had owned Galeria Kaufhof for several years before a sale to Signa and the chain's merger with Karstadt.
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German industrial production increased for a second month, underpinning hopes that Europe’s biggest economy may soon emerge from a shallow recession it probably witnessed in the last six months, Bloomberg News reported. The gauge increased 2.1% in February, led by construction, the statistics office said Monday. Despite this month’s increase, overall production is still well below pre-pandemic levels, an illustration of the challenges Germany’s important manufacturing sector had to endure since then — including a surge in energy costs following the war in Ukraine.
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The investment firm of U.S. businessman Richard Baker (NRDC) is among the two remaining bidders for Germany's most prominent department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, business outlet WirtschaftsWoche reported on Friday, according to Reuters. Galeria, which recently filed for insolvency, is seeking a new owner after the collapse of its parent Signa, the Austrian-based property empire that has become the biggest casualty so far in Europe's real estate crisis.
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German banks saw a jump in customers struggling to pay back commercial property loans in the fourth quarter, as the sector faces higher interest rates and shifts in consumer behavior exacerbated by the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Banks in the country saw their non-performing commercial real estate loans swell to €13.6 billion ($14.8 billion) at the end of December from €9.7 billion three months earlier, according to the European Banking Authority.
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German inflation eased for a third month in March, supporting expectations that the European Central Bank will start lowering interest rates in June, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose an annual 2.3% last month, according to the statistics office — down from 2.7% in February and less than the 2.4% median estimate in a Bloomberg poll of economists. Food costs were a key driver of the slowdown. The data come after France also reported a slowdown on Friday.
German retail sales were significantly weaker than forecast, symbolizing the woes in the sector as consumer confidence remains sluggish, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sales were down 1.9% on month in February, adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects, a fourth month of declining sales, data from German statistics agency Destatis showed Thursday. Economists had, instead, expected sales to rise 0.5%, according to a poll by the Wall Street Journal. Sales were 2.7% below the same level of last year.
A Signa Prime Selection AG creditor committee has rejected plans to sell a portfolio of Austrian property to the Schoeller Group, Bloomberg News reported. The initial decision casts doubt on a deal that insolvent Signa Prime had hoped would help address a bottleneck in its restructuring efforts. Negotiations between the firm and its lenders are ongoing. The luxury unit in the property and retail empire founded by Rene Benko was looking to sell several Austrian assets, including the Park Hyatt hotel and the Golden Quarter luxury shopping area.
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