Page 11 - Germany

German industry association expects economy to barely grow in 2024

Russwurm urged Germany's coalition parties to find an agreement and move forward, saying paralysis would be the worst of all scenarios

German economy shrinks 0.3%, costly energy, higher interest rates to blame

Germany's economy shrank 0.3 per cent last year as Europe's former powerhouse struggled with more expensive energy, higher interest rates, lack of skilled labour and a homegrown budget crisis. Europe's largest economy has been mired in stagnation since the last months of 2022 amid those multiple challenges. The International Monetary Fund expected Germany to be the worst-performing major developed economy last year, a major turnaround from its place as a model for how to expand when other nations were struggling. German's economy likely also shrank 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter after stagnating in the third quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said on Monday in an initial rough estimate. Official figures for the last three months of 2023 are expected to be announced January 30. Meanwhile, there's an ongoing debate about why Germany has stalled. Energy intensive industries must pay higher natural gas prices after losing Russia's cheap supply following its invasion of Ukraine,

NYSE-listed Belden invests Rs 100 crore in innovation hub in Bengaluru

The Bengaluru centre holds significance as this is the first such centre in India, following the successful launch of CICs in Stuttgart, Germany; Santa Clara, California; Shanghai, China; and Chicago

Indian coffee exports could surge 10%, thanks to global price rally

Coffee exports in 2024 could jump to 298,000 metric tons from last year's 271,420 tons, said a Bengaluru-based dealer with a global trade house

350,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in 2023, up 51% in 1 year

The number of people applying for asylum in Germany last year rose to 3,51,915, an increase of 51.1 per cent compared with the year before. The largest number of asylum-seekers came from Syria, with 1,04,561 applications, followed by Turkish citizens with 62,624 asylum pleas and 53,582 Afghans, Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said Monday. Migration has become a huge political problem for the government and a hot-button topic in Germany as local communities are struggling to house the many newcomers. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who faces enormous pressure from the opposition and elsewhere to halt the trend, has said that too many are coming. Late last year, Scholz and the 16 state governors agreed on new and stricter measures to curb the high number of migrants flowing into the country, reaching a compromise that included speeding up asylum procedures, benefit restrictions for asylum-seekers and more financial aid from the federal government for the states and

Govt aims to attract investors from Germany, UK for electric vehicles

While the government is yet to firm up the timeline of the launch of policy, there have been consultations with several countries on the matter

Germany's decadal bond yield, hits lowest level in year on rate cut bets

Germany's 2-year bond yield, which is sensitive to interest rate expectations, was down 1 bp at 2.40%, its lowest since March

India's steel production grows 11% to 11.7 MT in Nov 2023: Worldsteel

India has registered an increase of 11.4 per cent in its crude steel production at 11.7 million tonne (MT) in November this year, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel). During January-November, the country's production was 12.1 per cent higher year on year (y-o-y) at 128.2 MT, the global body said in its latest report. The global steel production in November was at 145.5 MT, 3.3 per cent up over same month in 2022. The world output rose marginally by 0.5 per cent to 1,715.1 MT in January-November 2023, worldsteel said. China produced 76.1 MT steel in November, up 0.4 per cent over November 2022. It produced 952.1 MT in January-November, higher 1.5 per cent y-o-y. In November, Japan's output fell 0.9 per cent to 7.1 MT, while the overall production was 2.8 per cent lower at 80 MT during January-November 2023. The US produced 6.6 MT steel in last month and 73.9 MT in the eleven-month period of 2023. Russia produced 6.4 MT in November and 70.2 MT in January-November 2023

Germany's woes worsen as economy likely to shrink again in current quarter

Germany's economy is likely to shrink again slightly in the current fourth quarter, the country's central bank said Monday, while a survey showed business confidence retreating unexpectedly. Europe's biggest economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter after growing by the same amount in the previous three-month period, according to official figures. The Bundesbank said in its monthly report that real gross domestic product in Germany is likely to decline again slightly in the fourth quarter of 2023 as a result of weak performances in industry and construction Two consecutive quarters of contraction is a common definition of recession, though the economists on a panel that declares recessions in the eurozone use a broader set of data, including employment figures. Germany is the only major economy expected to shrink this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, which foresees a decline of 0.5%. The German government has forecast a decline of 0.4%. The economy has bee

Germany-based KfW Development Bank to fund Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project

The Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project on Saturday got a major thrust when a loan agreement was signed with KfW Development Bank, Germany, by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) in New Delhi on December 15. As per the agreement, KfW Development Bank will provide Euro 500 million (Rs 4,552 crore) and a grant of Euro 4.5 million (Rs 41 crore) for the BSRP. The loan agreement is meant for Corridor-1 from Bengaluru City Railway Station to Devanahalli and Corridor-3 from Kengeri to Whitefield. K-RIDE said in a statement that the agreement was signed in the presence of senior officials from the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and the Government of Karnataka, and KfW officials. "The loan was signed for Euro 500 million (Rs 4,552 crore) and a grant of Euro 4.5 million (Rs 41 crore). The signing of this loan agreement will facilitate invitation of Corridor-1, Corridor-3 and system tenders and further expedite progress

Is the West abandoning Ukraine? Prez Volodymyr Zelenskiy's tough week

France and Germany and others let it be known showing up wouldn't be a good idea, according to people familiar with the discussion, who spoke on condition of anonymity

Wait time for German visa appointment for Indians is only two to five days

Germany has witnessed a surge in popularity among Indian students seeking to pursue higher education abroad.

Denmark & Germany arrest terror suspects including suspected Hamas members

Denmark and Germany announced on Thursday arrests of several terror suspects, including alleged Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Europe over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The announcements were issued separately and it was unclear how the arrests were connected and if they were the result of coordinated actions, or even possibly one operation spanning the continent. Danish police said three people were arrested across Denmark while a fourth person was detained in the Netherlands on suspicion of plotting to carry out an act of terror. Officials in Copenhagen did not provide any details beyond saying the arrests had threads abroad and were related to criminal gangs, singling out the banned, predominantly immigrant gang Loyal to Familia that had long been behind feuds, violence, robberies, extortion and drug sales in the Danish capital. However, Flemming Drejer, the operative head of Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service, cryptically

SBI to sign Rs 630 crore LoC with Germany's KfW for solar projects

State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday said it will sign 70 million euro (about Rs 630 crore) Line of Credit (LoC) with German Development Bank KfW for promoting solar project in the country. The agreement will be signed on December 14 at the bank's IFSC Gift City Branch in Ahmedabad, SBI said in a regulatory filing. The LoC is aimed at supporting Solar Photovoltaics (PV) projects in India, it said. The country's largest lender SBI reported a 9.13 per cent growth in consolidated net profit for the September quarter to Rs 16,099.58 crore as against Rs 14,752 crore in the year-ago period. On a standalone basis, it posted a net profit of Rs 14,330.02 crore as against Rs 13,264.52 crore in the year-ago period. The bank reported a total income of over Rs 1.12 lakh crore for the quarter under review, up from Rs 88,733 crore in the year-ago period.

German firm TÜV SÜD invests 15 mn euros in lab test facility in Bengaluru

TÜV SÜD has 2,500 employees in India out of its total global headcount of over 30,000 employees. In India alone, the company recorded revenues of Rs 500 crore this year

Germany remains Europe's top destination for foreign direct investment

Other countries such as Switzerland and France have also noted declines as companies lean towards mergers and acquisitions rather than investments in an uncertain economic environment

Snowstorm in southern Germany disrupts trains, flight operations in Munich

All flights were grounded at Munich's airport Saturday after a winter storm dumped snow across southern Germany and parts of Austria and Switzerland, affecting travel across the region. After initially announcing a halt in air traffic until noon on Saturday, the airport later announced flights would be cancelled until 6 am Sunday. Other airports in the region, including in the Swiss financial capital, Zurich, also announced weather-related delays and cancellations. Trains to and from Munich's central station were also halted, Germany's national railway said, advising passengers to delay or reroute their journeys. The news agency dpa reported that some passengers in Munich and the nearby city of Ulm spent Friday night on trains due to the halt. Officials for Germany's Bundesliga also announced that a soccer match between Bayern Munich and Union Berlin, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Munich, was cancelled. The weather has caused accidents and incidents across the regi

World battling a wave of hate crime unleashed by Israel-Hamas war

Reports of crimes targeting Jews, Muslims and Arabs have risen in the US, Germany, Canada and beyond since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and the Israeli military's retaliatory operation in Gaza

German soccer fed limits Facebook comments after racial slurs at players

The German soccer federation has had to limit comments on the Facebook page of its junior teams following a slew of racist and discriminatory comments against its Under-17 players. The federation posted a picture of four players from the Germany U17 team, all Black, celebrating Tuesday's 3-2 win over the United States in the round of 16 at the U17 World Cup in Indonesia. But the post was met by a torrent of racist comments from a host of Facebook users about the players Charles Herrmann, Almugera Kabar, Paris Brunner (all from Borussia Dortmund) and Fayssal Harchaoui (Cologne). The federation responded by switching off comments and posting a statement of its own. We're proud of the diversity in our Under-17s, who are currently playing their hearts out in Indonesia, the federation said. The commitment to diversity is firmly anchored in the federation's statutes as are the values of tolerance and respect. If you don't share these values, please unfollow us. Discriminatory and racis

German budget crisis deepens with freeze on new spending commitments

Existing liabilities will be honored but new commitments can be unblocked only in exceptional cases, according to a letter sent to government ministries