German manufacturing orders climbed for the first time in six months in June, driven by a revival in orders in the car industry, a potential sign of hope for the beleaguered industrial sector, the Wall Street Journal reported. Industrial orders were 3.9% higher than the prior month, German statistics office Destatis said Tuesday, rebounding after they fell 1.7% in May. That was better than the 0.5% rise expected by a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. The uptick was the first since December last year.

A court in Dusseldorf has initiated insolvency proceedings for fashion retailer Esprit's European operations, impacting Esprit Europe GmbH and six other German subsidiaries, according to court documents published on Thursday, DPA International reported. The global firm, which filed for bankruptcy in May due to insolvency and over-indebtedness, has appointed Lucas Flöther as custodian. About 1,300 employees have been notified and salary payments are assured until insolvency-related terminations take effect.

Car seat manufacturer Recaro Automotive has filed for bankruptcy, Autocar reported. The German firm, which supplies major brands including BMW, Ford and Volkswagen, was yesterday approved for self-administration by the Esslingen District Court. Local reports suggest that employees hadn't been informed that it would be filing for bankruptcy.

At the end of last week, Priogo AG filed an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings with the responsible district court in Bonn, PV-Magazine.com reported. The judges appointed lawyer Franz Zilkens from the Voigt Salus law firm as provisional insolvency administrator, as noted in the public announcement. The reason for the bankruptcy application has been the extremely difficult market situation since the middle of last year, sources told pv magazine. There is strong competition in the region, which affects not only PV installations, but also the heating industry.

German inflation accelerated in July, evidence that may add to the European Central Bank’s caution as it moves toward further interest-rate cuts, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 2.6% from a year earlier in July, up from 2.5% the previous month. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had predicted the pace to remain stable. While energy costs eased less than in June, food price pressures increased and services remained stable. A separate report earlier showed Spanish inflation slowing more than predicted. Readings for France, Italy and the euro area are due on Wednesday.

Consulting firm Falkensteg has been commissioned to carry out an international sales process of insolvent German microinverter manufacturer Solarnative, PV-Magazine.com reported. "Solarnative has developed a good market position. With the right investment, the company can fully exploit its potential and successfully open up the market for rooftop systems,” the Solarnative's provisional insolvency administrator Jan Markus Plathner from the law firm Brinkmann & Partner said. He sees the sales process as a good opportunity to restructure and continue the company's business.

German consumers offered a brighter picture of their incomes this year, as inflation ticks down and the European soccer tournament in the country offered a boost, a monthly survey said, the Wall Street Journal reported. The forward-looking consumer-climate index for Germany, published Wednesday by research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, forecasts confidence to rise 3.2 points to minus 18.4 points in August. That was a little better than the consensus of minus 20.8 from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

One of the major German furniture retailers, Opti-Wohnwelt, is facing financial difficulties, Aussiedlerbote.de reported. The company has filed an application for insolvency proceedings in Self-Administration at the Schweinfurt District Court, Opti announced. The court has granted the application. Lawyer Stefan Debus has been appointed as trustee. "The application for Self-Administration was not an easy one for us," said Managing Director Oliver Foest.