Germany

After a two-year avalanche of revelations – from diesel emissions manipulation to claims of cartel collusion – German politicians will give car executives an unusually chilly reception in Berlin on Wednesday.
At an emergency “diesel summit” increasingly jittery federal politicians and leaders of car-building states – Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Baden Württemberg – will read auto executives the riot act over their handling of a scandal with growing political and economic consequences.

German newspaper Spiegel cited documents submitted by VW and another by Daimler, purportedly revealing that Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are being investigated by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office on suspected antitrust collusion over decades on technology relating to exhaust gas measures on diesel vehicles.

The report shows that the companies have been secretly meeting in various working groups since the 1990s, where they agreed on technologies, costs, suppliers and even how to work on emissions from diesel engines.

Deep-freeze logistics company Nordfrost has won a copyright lawsuit against a Swedish neo-Nazi organization, local media reported Wednesday. The firm claimed that the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) using the term "Nordfront" for their website and promotional materials could be mistaken for their brand.

"The two labels are phonetically and visually similar, differentiated only by one letter," read Nordfrost’s complaint, according to Austrian public broadcaster ORF. The German firm successfully argued that the names were too similar and that there was “an obvious risk that third parties will mistakenly get the impression that there is a commercial link".

Germany’s financial hub, Frankfurt, is trying to attract its share of the Brexit-driven banker exodus from London by appealing to "risk takers" working in the financial sector.

The UK is widely expected to lose financial passporting rights after its EU exit, which would represent a huge blow to its financial services industry. The EU’s passporting rules allow businesses to sell services across the union from anywhere within it and only require companies to be regulated in one country, rather than everywhere they operate.

Germany and China continue to have great trade surpluses while the US trade deficit has not yet been corrected by the Trump administration. Oil is still the most important source of energy with the Middle East a main supplier. Given these additional factors, it should be clear that any disturbance will have far-reaching consequences since the Fed, ECB and BoJ cannot lower interest rates to fend off a recession or depression. The huge injections of liquidity into the global financial system in recent years have had the result among others of producing little or no growth.

The German Business Climate Index released on March 27 hit the record high since mid-2011. Does that mean that German companies are, in general, indifferent to the existing political uncertainties, such as the US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policy, the upcoming elections in Germany and France and hot disputes about the two-speed Europe idea?

I would not say that they are completely indifferent. The Business Climate Index did show an initial reaction to the Brexit referendum decision back in the middle of 2016; however, despite the political uncertainties, the overall global demand picture has actually brightened up over the last six to nine months. Indeed, this is something the German economy benefits very much from due to the importance of its export industry. And the fact that we have seen the Euro weakening over the last year or so helped additionally. This is the result of the US reserves tightening up, while the ECB is not prepared to change its monetary policy yet.

The German Parliament approved a plan Wednesday that will force social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to remove hate speech within 24 hours or face a fine of up to $53 million.

Angela Merkel’s cabinet voted on the measures amid concerns over free speech, with campaigners, technology firms and journalists raising fears that tightened regulations could restrict expression. "Hate crimes that are not effectively combated and prosecuted pose a great danger for the peaceful cohesion of a free, open and democratic society," said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet.

The merger between the Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange has been vetoed by the European Commission because of competition concerns, ending a third attempt in 17 years to unite the financial hubs of London and Frankfurt.
In a statement on Wednesday, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Britain’s decision to leave the 28-nation bloc had played no role in banning the tie-up.