#Germany
articles
CDU and SPD Adopt AfD's Pension Playbook as Eastern State Votes Loom
CDU and SPD leaders are reopening the 'Rente mit 63' deal to court eastern German voters, ignoring the fiscal logic they...
Deutsche Finance Real Estate Fund Faces Insolvency as 1,200 Investors Warned of Total Loss
A public fund from Munich-based Deutsche Finance is expected to file for insolvency after failing to repay nearly $60 mi...
Germany Approves Intelligence Reform to Expand Cyber Powers and Oversight
Berlin's cabinet has agreed to modernise BND and BfV powers, allowing AI-driven data analysis and limited active cyber d...
A 20-Year-Old Built a 'Doctolib for Trades' in Five Weeks Using OpenAI Codex
Suna Marie Tamboga built Passt, a platform that matches German households with the right tradesperson, in about five wee...
Germany Pays 19 North Sea Fishers €12m to Quit as Shrimp Fleet Shrinks 30%
Germany has approved €12m to pay 19 North Sea crab and flatfish operators to surrender licences and scrap cutters by mid...
Low Water Forces Berlin, Brandenburg and Thuringia to Lift Sunday Truck Bans
Berlin, Brandenburg and Thuringia temporarily allow Sunday truck shipments until 31 August as Rhine, Elbe and Danube low...
Rhine Hits Record Low at Kaub, Forcing Europe's Industrial Freight Reroute
Europe's key industrial waterway has effectively stalled at Kaub after hitting a record low, pushing chemicals, steel an...
Germany Introduces ‘Frühstartrente’ to Give Children a Head Start on Retirement Savings
The German cabinet has approved a plan to invest €10 per month for every child from age six to 18, aiming to build capit...
Germany's 2026 Tax Bill Hikes Interest Rates, Expands R&D Credit, and Forces Digital Tax Delivery
The German cabinet approved the Annual Tax Act 2026, introducing higher tax interest, a €25 million R&D credit cap, defa...
Solar Eclipse Triggers €400+ Wholesale Power Spike in Germany
A partial solar eclipse will briefly push German wholesale electricity prices above €460/MWh on Wednesday evening, expos...
Germany’s New Minimum-Length Research Contracts Offer Temporary Relief, Not Systemic Change
New rules granting PhDs at least 3-year first contracts and postdocs 2 years address immediate funding shortfalls, but e...
DGB Estimates €64bn Lost to Minimum Wage Fraud in Germany Since 2015
German union federation DGB calculates that underpayment of the statutory minimum wage has deprived workers, social secu...
Germany’s EV Subsidy Has No Price Cap, So Luxury Car Buyers Also Get Cash
A program meant to help lower-income households switch to electric cars has no upper limit on vehicle price, allowing bu...
German Tourism Hits Record Overnight Stays but June Slump Raises Industry Alarms
Germany’s hotels and guesthouses registered 223.8 million overnight stays in the first half of 2026, a 0.3% rise, but a ...
German Teacher Shortage Deepens: Up to 10-Year Sick Leaves, 27,000 Vacancies, and a Looming Retirement Wave
Germany’s schools face a structural staffing crisis as long-term illness absences, a retiring teacher generation, and ri...
EV Adoption Accelerates: One in Eight Car Switchers Go Electric, Used Market Jumps
HUK Coburg data shows record electric-vehicle switch rates among private car owners, with used-EV take-up more than doub...
Germany’s Nursing Care Funding Gap: The Reform Debate and the PKV’s Radical Alternative
A 7.6 billion euro deficit in Germany’s mandatory long-term care insurance is driving competing plans: the government’s ...
Deutsche Bahn returns to profit, but chronic delays persist
Deutsche Bahn reported a €147m net profit in H1 2026 – its first in seven years – while long-distance punctuality fell t...
Aryzta Shares Plunge as German Weakness Triggers Strategic Business Review
First-half organic sales fell 2.7%, far below the 0.4% decline expected, driven by price-sensitive German consumers and ...
Aryzta Slides as German Weakness Prompts Strategic Review, Guidance Trimmed
First-half revenue and earnings missed expectations at the Swiss-Irish bakery group as price-sensitive German consumers ...
North Rhine-Westphalia’s 2054 Bond Trades at 4.04% Yield After Issuance
A 30-year state bond from North Rhine-Westphalia, rated Aa1 by Moody’s, offers investors a yield of 4.04% at the current...
Germany Lifts Sunday Truck Ban for Key States to Counter Rhine Shipping Crisis
Rhineland-Palatinate, NRW, Saarland and Lower Saxony are temporarily exempting certain haulage from Sunday and holiday d...
Germany Lifts Sunday Truck Ban as Rhine Levels Drop; Industry Cheers, Green Groups Fume
Germany is suspending its Sunday and holiday truck driving ban in several states to offset barge shipping paralysis caus...
Cargo Crisis on the Rhine: German States Lift Sunday Truck Ban as Water Levels Plunge
As record low water chokes inland shipping, several German states temporarily waive the Sunday driving ban for trucks to...
Bundesbank: Counterfeit Euro Notes Drop, But €100 Fakes Jump 61% in 2026
The number of fake euro banknotes in Germany fell 4.3% in the first half of 2026, but a sharp rise in counterfeit €100 n...
German EV Drivers Paid Less Than a Quarter of Petrol Costs per 100 km in July
New data from smart charging provider Tibber shows that after the fuel tax cut ended, driving 100 km on petrol or diesel...
Germany Loans Vehicle Scanners to Israel to Unblock Gaza Aid
Germany is lending two vehicle-scanning systems to Israel under a trilateral deal with the US, aiming to significantly b...
Germany’s Rhine River at Record Low: Berlin Readies Emergency Road Freight as Economic Toll Mounts
Water levels on Germany’s vital Rhine artery have plunged below historic lows, threatening chemical and steel giants. Ne...
Industry Urges Rhine Deepening as Low Water Cripples German Shipping
German industry and barge operators demand immediate action on Rhine low water, with a high-level summit in Bonn amid wa...
Ifo Chief Proposes Scrapping Reduced VAT on Staples, Compensating Low Earners with Cash Credits
Clemens Fuest wants Germany to replace the 7% reduced VAT on food and other goods with the full 19% rate, paired with an...