Page 10 - Germany

Equity investors make best returns amid falling interest rates: UBS

Based on free-float market capitalisation in the FTSE All-World index, which spans the investable universe for a global investor, the US market accounts for a staggering 60.5 per cent of total value

BASF to slash another 1 bn euros in Germany, flags earnings rebound

CEO Martin Brudermueller, who will quit in April to become non-executive chairman of carmaker Mercedes-Benz, cited high competitiveness of the group outside of Germany under challenging conditions

German economy in 'troubled waters', govt cuts its growth forecast

The German government said Europe's largest economy was in troubled waters and slashed its growth forecast for this year as it struggles with a lack of skilled labour, excessive bureaucracy, high interest rates and lagging investment in new projects while a relatively modest set of tax breaks for business remains blocked in the legislature. The growth forecast was lowered to 0.2% from the previous forecast from last fall of 1.3%. That would follow a shrinking of the economy by 0.3% for all of last year. Germany is recovering more slowly than we hoped from the shock of Russia cutting off most supplies of natural gas after its invasion of Ukraine, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said as he presented the government's annual economic report. The economy is in troubled waters. The loss of Russian gas in Germany led to a spike in energy costs that hammered energy intensive industries and contributed to high consumer inflation that eroded purchasing power and made consumers more reluctant t

Ursula von der Leyen seeking second term as head of EU's Commission

Germany's Ursula von der Leyen will seek a second term as head of the European Union's powerful Commission in a move that could make her the most significant politician representing the bloc's 450 million citizens in a over a generation. Following five years of leading the 27-nation bloc through multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the first two years of Russia's war in Ukraine, the 65-year-old was put forward by her German Christian Democratic Union party and will only need a further rubber stamp when the party's European umbrella group meets early next month in Bucharest. The party's president, Friedrich Merz, said on Monday that his German party unanimously chose Ursula von der Leyen to be the candidate to stay in her post.

Statsguru: Indian farmer protests mirror similar scenes in France, Germany

Farm protests in Europe include opposition to new laws that seek to limit emissions from agriculture

German labour union calls on Lufthansa ground staff to strike on Feb 20

A labour union in Germany has called on ground staff for Lufthansa to walk off the job at seven airports on Tuesday following a similar strike earlier this month. The Ver.di union said Sunday that the one-day strike will affect the airports in Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa's two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart. It will run from 4 am Tuesday to 7:10 am Wednesday. A 27-hour strike at five of the same airports that started February 7 prompted the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The union is seeking pay raises of 12.5 per cent, or at least 500 euros (USD 539) more per month, in negotiations for about 25,000 employees, including check-in, aircraft handling, maintenance and freight staff. Several-hour or one-day warning strikes are a common tactic in German contract negotiations. A round of talks on February 12 produced no agreement. More negotiations are scheduled for Wednesday.

EAM Jaishankar holds meetings with US, UK counterparts in Germany

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation as well as those of key global and regional concern with prominent leaders, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart David Cameron here in Germany. The meetings took place on the sidelines of the prestigious Munich Security Conference, in its 60th edition, which is the world's leading forum for debate on international security. The Indian minister is to participate in a panel discussion on Growing the Pie: Seizing Shared Opportunities,' which is also to be addressed by German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, and US Secretary of State Blinken on Saturday. Taking to social media platform X, Jaishankar said his meeting with Blinken focussed on key bilateral issues as well as the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. Great to meet my friend US @SecBlinken this afternoon on #MSC2024 sidelines. Our talk centered on the situation in West .

German economy to shrink by 0.5% in 2024 on weak domestic demand: Report

A DIHK poll of more than 27,000 companies showed that of those surveyed, 35% expect business to deteriorate in the next 12 months with only 14% expecting an improvement

'Foreigners wary of pollution when considering setting base in India'

Air pollution is the primary concern for foreigners considering establishing a permanent base in India, with the issue entangled in the political blame game, a German Embassy official said on Thursday. Addressing a symposium on air pollution here, Hendrik Selle, the head of the Department for Economic and Global Affairs at the German Embassy, said that air pollution affects not only people's health but also the economy. "Air pollution, in India for example, is one of the primary factors for those abroad who consider establishing a permanent representation in the country...(They) say this is something we cannot run the risk of doing," he said. "So, it is indeed a very important concern and a multifactor problem, one that is far too often caught up in political blame game. The brick kiln worker attributes it to vehicular pollution, the stubble-burning farmer blames it on farmers in another state...which is not what we need. We need political action both nationally and internationally,

Lufthansa cancels hundreds of flights as ground staff strike for a day

Ground staff for Lufthansa walked off the job at five major German airports on Wednesday, causing the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The Ver.di union called on ground staff at Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa's two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf and Hamburg, to strike for 27 hours starting at 4 am Wednesday. Lufthansa said ahead of the strike that it expected to be able to operate around 10-20 per cent of all planned flights. It said tickets could be re-booked free of charge, and tickets for German domestic flights could be converted to rail vouchers. In Frankfurt, the company canceled 80-90 per cent of the planned 600 departures and arrivals by Lufthansa itself and subsidiary Air Dolomiti ahead of the strike, German news agency dpa reported. More than 400 departures and arrivals at Munich Airport also were canceled. All Lufthansa departures from Berlin and Hamburg were canceled, as were most domestic flights from Duesseldorf. Lufthansa anticipated that, in all, m

Inox Wind ties up with German firm for new series of turbine generators

Homegrown Inox Wind on Tuesday said it has partnered with Germany-based Wind to Energy to introduce a new series of wind turbine generators in the domestic market. Under the agreement, Wind to Energy (W2E) will share its technology and design for the 4.X MW series wind turbine generators (WTG), Inox Wind Ltd (IWL) said in a statement. The new series of wind turbine generators has been designed for low wind regimes in India, the company said. Wind to Energy (W2E) is a global provider of technology and design for wind turbines. Inox Wind currently manufactures 2 MW and 3 MW turbines with multiple blades on existing licences with AMSC. The company will target installations of its 4.X MW series WTGs across various sites in the country. A 4.X MW series WTG can be upgraded with the use of boosters and Inox Wind will offer it in multiple blade and tower variants, it said. "The launch of 4.X MW wind turbines marks an important milestone for Inox Wind, as we continue on our exciting growt

Indian toy manufacturers receive orders worth $10 mn at German fair

Indian toy makers, who have participated in the five-day international toy fair in Germany have received orders worth over USD 10 million as they showcased high-quality products, according to exporters. The exporters said buyers from countries such as the US, the UK, South Africa, and Germany showed interest in their products and placed a good number of orders. There were more than 55 participants from India this year in the Nuremberg fair in Germany, held from January 30 to February 3. Initiatives by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) like mandatory quality norms, increase in custom duty and a National Action Plan on Toys (NAPT), helped in the manufacture of high-quality products that received appreciation at the international platform. "The Indian toy sector is growing at a healthy rate and competing with global players. Among the most popular categories at the fair were those pertaining to wooden toys and educational learning toys," the DPIIT sai

Vodafone in 'active discussions' about Italy deal as German recovery slows

The British group rejected a merger offer from rival Iliad in Italy last month in favour of pursuing other options

Indian toy makers receive orders worth crores at int'l toy fair in Germany

Indian toy makers, who participated in the five-day international toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany, have received huge orders worth crores as they had showcased high-quality products, exporters say. According to the toy exporters, buyers from countries such as the US, UK, South Africa, and Germany showed interest in their products and placed a good number of orders. The Nuremberg International Toy Fair concluded on February 3. Over 2,000 exhibitors from over 65 countries participated in one of the world largest toy fairs. Greater Noida-based Little Genius Toys Pvt Ltd CEO Naresh Kumar Gautam said: "Our products received huge appreciation. Be it wooden education toys or soft toys. There was a strong anti-China sentiment for Chinese toys and Indian toys were appreciated. About 60 firms participated." He said that two-Chinese firms have expressed keen interest to set up joint ventures with Little Genius in India for toy manufacturing. "The JV would cater to both national and internatio

German unemployment edges down by 2,000 to 2.694 million in January

The Federal Labour Office said the number of people out of work decreased by 2,000 in seasonally adjusted terms from December to 2.694 million

German business morale unexpectedly worsened in January, GDP contracts 0.3%

"The tentative revival of optimism last autumn has turned out to be very short-lived," said ING economist Carsten Brzeski, forecasting another shallow recession this year of -0.3%

German companies in China say economy is on 'downward trajectory'

The survey results underscore concern about China's economic recovery, which is being hampered by a property crisis and stubborn deflation

Protests against Germany's far-right in Munich end amid safety concerns

A protest against the far right in the German city of Munich on Sunday afternoon ended early due to safety concerns after approximately 100,000 people showed up, police said. The demonstration was one of dozens around the country this weekend that drew hundreds of thousands of people in total. The demonstrations came in the wake of a report that right-wing extremists recently met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship. Some members of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, were present at the meeting. In the western city of Cologne, police confirmed tens of thousands of people showed up to protest on Sunday, and organisers spoke of around 70,000 people. A protest on Sunday afternoon in Berlin drew at least 60,000 people and potentially up to 100,000, police said, according to the German news agency dpa. A similar demonstration on Friday in Hamburg, Germany's second-largest city, drew what police said was a crowd of

Germany approves legislation easing deportations of rejected asylum seekers

The German parliament on Thursday approved legislation that is intended to ease deportations of unsuccessful asylum-seekers as Chancellor Olaf Scholz seeks to defuse migration as a political problem. The legislation foresees increasing the maximum length of pre-deportation custody from 10 to 28 days and specifically facilitating the deportation of people who are members of a criminal organisation. It also authorises residential searches for documentation that enables officials to firmly establish a person's identity, as well as remove authorities' obligation to give advance notice of deportations in some cases. Germany's shelters for migrants and refugees have been filling up in recent months as significant numbers of asylum-seekers add to more than 1 million Ukrainians who have arrived since the start of Russia's war in their homeland. The majority of rejected asylum-seekers in Germany will still have at least temporary permission to stay for reasons that can include illness, a ch

Mahindra Aerostructures to supply 5,000 varieties of components to Airbus

Mahindra Aerostructures will supply close to 5,000 varieties of metallic components to Airbus in Germany, under a new manufacturing and supply contract with the European aviation major, the company said on Wednesday. The latest award from Airbus Aerostructures GmbH covers all Airbus commercial aircraft models, including A320 family aircraft, Mahindra Aerostructures Pvt Ltd (MASPL) said in the statement. The contract adds to existing MASPL programs to deliver parts directly to Airbus at their facilities in Toulouse, France, it said. "With this new contract we further expand our relationship (with Airbus Aerostructures Gmbh) and increase our participation in the 'Make In India' initiative of the Indian government. We look forward to delivering on our commitments and continuing this journey of collaborative growth," said Vinod Sahay, President, Aerospace & Defence & CPO, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. The Bengaluru-based MASPL has been a direct supplier to .