A German data watchdog has been investigating OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Worldcoin project since late last year due to concerns over its large-scale processing of sensitive biometric data, the regulator's president told Reuters. Worldcoin, which launched last week, requires users to give their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, free cryptocurrency as part of plans to create a new "identity and financial network".
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Steinhoff International Holdings NV shareholders had little choice but to vote to dissolve the shell of the scandal-hit global retailer on Wednesday, drawing a line under a 5-1/2 year saga that turned into a windfall for lawyers and advisers, Bloomberg News reported. Those who have held stock via listings in Frankfurt or Johannesburg stand to gain little after the creditors who control the company get paid. But outside parties have received €447 million ($495 million) since late 2017, according to annual reports, and managers have also continued to be remunerated.
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Indian auto parts maker Samvardhana Motherson International (SMIL)said on Monday that it made a second acquisition this month, buying Germany's Dr. Schneider Group for 118.3 million euros ($131.6 million), Reuters reported. Dr. Schneider Group, a unit of Dr. Schneider Holding, manufactures interior components for vehicles such as panels and lighting. The German company had filed for insolvency in September 2022 due to "a failed operational and financial restructuring", Samvardhana Motherson said in a statement, referring to the acquisition, which was done through an insolvency process.
Amid the ruins of a city ravaged by World War II, Karl Haeusgen’s grandfather invented a hydraulic pump he was so proud of that he founded a company to sell it, the New York Times reported. Back then, there were no revenue projections or five-year growth strategies. The plan was survival: “It was just about grabbing chances,” Mr. Haeusgen said. Seven decades and three generations later the family business, Hawe Hydraulics, ships some 2,500 parts around the globe. Instead of scrambling for sales, though, Mr. Haeusgen must parse the geopolitics of an ever more polarized world.
Germany plans to slash social benefits and rein in government debt but increase the amount spent on the military in 2024, according to a federal budget approved Wednesday by the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the New York Times reported. The proposed package foresees spending 445.7 billion euros ($485 billion) next year, down about 6 percent from this year, while taking on just €16.6 billion in fresh debt, a considerable cut of more than 50 percent.
The number of German firms pushed into insolvency rose in the first half of this year at the fastest pace in more than two decades due to the energy crisis, inflation and rising interest rates, a study by credit agency Creditreform showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. There were 8,400 corporate insolvencies in Germany from January to June, up 16.2% from the first half of 2022 and the biggest percentage increase in more than 20 years, Creditreform said.
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On a quiet back street sandwiched between Mayfair’s Grosvenor and Berkeley Squares in London’s West End, the door to 11 Mount Row bore signs of forced entry, its black paint pierced by a battering ram. Temporary padlocks had been installed to secure it. Wednesday morning, the building had been targeted as part of a vast police operation spanning seven countries and almost two dozen addresses, Bloomberg News reported. The sweep focused on Adler Group SA, formerly one of Germany’s largest landlords, and the man accused of pulling the strings behind it.
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German regulators have told Binance they will not grant it a cryptocurrency custody license, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, the latest in a string of setbacks for the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reported. Binance has come under pressure from regulators around the world. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this month sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao over what the regulator called a "web of deception" to evade U.S. laws. Binance denies the charges.
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Germany was set to raise its minimum wage by 3.4% to 12.41 euros ($13.53) an hour from 2024, based on the proposals of government-appointed commission on Monday, although unions and analysts said the hike would not be enough to cover inflation, Reuters reported. Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said he would accept the proposals - which were also for a further 3.3% rise to 12.82 euros an hour from January 2025 - though "I can understand that some wished for more". His approval means the changes will most likely go ahead, raising the wages of almost 6 million people.
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German automotive supplier Allgaier, whose customers include Porsche, has filed for insolvency, a court said on Wednesday, a year after being sold to a Chinese investor, Reuters reported. The Goeppingen district court said that it had appointed Pluta law firm's Fritz Zanker as provisional insolvency administrator. Allgaier, which has about 1,700 employees, supplies major car manufacturers with sheet metal parts and is also active in toolmaking and process engineering.
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