English | Financial news with a German perspective

German Council of Economic Experts member Ulrike Malmendier warns that politicians need to adopt some unpopular policies in order to ensure the future success of the economy. She draws parallels with the reforms introduced by Gerhard Schröder in the early 2000s.

The European Union is considering changes to the stability pact to accommodate higher defence spending. But it should look closely at how bond investors might react.

According to Bantleon Chief Economist Daniel Hartmann, the planned 180-degree turnaround in German fiscal policy will have a clear impact on the ECB's monetary policy. He sees very limited room for further interest rate cuts in the eurozone – perhaps one more 25bp cut.

Political support for the Frankfurt financial centre is strengthening as Europe looks to find its place in a shifting world order. The location of new entities such as the ISSB and AMLA is is adding to its attractiveness.

The population of Frankfurt is growing fast, and the number of available apartments is not keeping pace. A completely new district is planned to the northwest of the city, but it might just be a drop in the ocean.

The Luxembourg Stock Exchange is taking a leading role in listing green, social, and gender focused bonds. This includes gender bonds from countries including Tanzania and Argentina.

Italian defence company Leonardo and the Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar are setting up a joint venture to produce combat and surveillance drones for the global market.

The EU Commission is firming up its plans for a Savings and Investment Union. But the draft document is vague in its references to the future of the Retail Investment Strategy.

Dutch state owned electricity transmission system operator Tennet aims to sell or list its German subsidiary this year. The infrastructure spending plans of the new German government have put a potential acquisition back on the table.

Clemens Schäfer, Head of Real Estate APAC & Europe at asset manager DWS, sees strong demand for high quality office space, while outdated buildings are finding it hard to attract tenants. He also sees great opportunities in the residential segment.

Ericsson is tightening its belt on costs, and CFO Lars Sandström hasn't ruled out layoffs. He is focusing on the business performance quarter by quarter, and sees maintaining a solid cash position as an important signal to customers.

Munich-based Allianz has been performing exceptionally well for over a decade. Going forward it will be difficult to sustain such rapid growth.

Bill Anderson was brought in as CEO to get Bayer back on track. But another challenging year lies ahead, and discontent is growing among shareholders.

The Commission's softened emissions targets for the EU car industry are guided by common sense in difficult times. A pragmatic approach is the right one.

After five consecutive rate cuts by the ECB, a pause is needed. Inflation risks are increasing – partly due to the massive spending plans announced in Berlin.

Many industries would struggle without employees with an immigration background. In sectors including gastronomy, driving trucks and buses, and metalworking, they make up a disproportionately high share of the workforce.

The demands made of supervisory boards have broadened in recent years. Daniela Mattheus, President of the Financial Experts Association, discusses whether changes to the regulatory framework are needed.

Logistics company DHL exceeded analysts' expectations with its 2024 results. The profitability outlook for 2025 is even higher – and costs are being reduced with sizeable job cuts.

On March 10, 2000, the dotcom bubble began to burst, and there was a massive collapse that lasted for years. Investors are examining the current tech driven bull market to see what the historic parallels are.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Tim Höttges signalled that he is far from running out of energy as Telekom CEO. As always, he is fighting for the interests of the industry, and has some strong opinions on EU competition policy.

Taking the approach of voluntary redundancies with payoffs at Audi means that the potential impact on the bottom line at the Volkswagen Group will initially be quite limited.

For 2024, Allianz delivered a record set of results. CEO Oliver Bäte and CFO Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre still see further upside potential, but are sticking to their policy of being conservative with forecasts.