Germany Presentation

Submitted by Japhet

Israel, Germany Sign Submarine Contract

Israel's Ministry of Defense says it has signed the contract for a sixth Dolphin-type military submarine from Germany. 

Ehud Barak's office said the minister signed the contract Wednesday in Berlin at a ceremony held at the Israeli ambassador's home. 

Germany's Parliament approved the purchase in November and agreed to pay some €135 million ($180 million) of the costs — about 1/3 of the submarine's price.

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German job market stays buoyant

The outlook for jobs in Germany is buoyant, despite a struggling economy, new statistics revealed Thursday show. The number of Germans in work rose once again in February. 

"The German economy is currently experiencing a period of weakness, but the labour market remains unfazed by this," the head of the Federal Labour Agency, Frank Weise, said. 

Recent data showed that the German economy, the biggest in Europe, contracted by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the latest output and orders data suggest little improvement can be expected in the first quarter, Weise said.

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Germany wants EU control of Greek budget

Greece has rejected a German proposal to appoint a European Union commissioner with the power to veto Greek budgets. 

German officials suggested the commissioner, appointed by the other eurozone finance ministers, would ensure Greek government revenue was spent on paying off the country's huge debts.

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Investor confidence tops 10-month high

German investor confidence hit a 10-month high in February amid optimism Europe's top economy will be able to escape from the eurozone crisis relatively unscathed, data showed on Tuesday. 

The ZEW think tank's economic expectations index rose by a whopping 27.0 points in February to stand at plus 5.4 points. 

It is the third consecutive monthly increase in the closely watched indicator and brought the barometer back into positive territory for the first time since May 2011 and to its highest reading since April 2011.

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Germany to Cut Subsidies for Solar Power

Germany plans to reduce government subsidies supporting solar power by up to 30 percent within a year because higher-than-expected demand has made the scheme far more costly than authorities initially expected. 

The country's drive to abandon nuclear energy in the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster has led to a boom in solar power installations last year that vastly exceeded the government's forecasts.

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German firms expect robust exports in 2012

News magazine Der Spiegel cited a new poll for the German Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (DIHK) among 3,200 firms forecasting a four-percent rise
in exports in 2012. 

The figure was down slightly from the average over the last 10 years of nearly six-percent growth in exports, traditionally the backbone of Europe's top economy, Der Spiegel said.

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Exports top €1 trillion despite euro crisis

Europe's biggest economy exported €1.06 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in the whole of last year, exceeding the one-trillion mark for the first time, the national statistics office Destatis said in a statement. Imports also rose to a record €902 billion. 

Exports declined by 4.3 percent in December alone to their lowest level since April, as the effects of the region's debilitating debt crisis increasingly made themselves felt, the data showed. 

And with imports also falling by 3.9 percent, Germany's trade surplus - which had ballooned to €158.1 billion throughout the whole of 2011 - contracted to €13.9 billion in December.

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VW eyes 2012 merger with Porsche

News weekly Der Spiegel wrote in its upcoming issue that VW, which owns 49.9 percent of Porsche, could buy the 50.1 percent stake in the manufacturer of the iconic 911 car for €3.9 billion ($5.0 billion) in 2012.

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Last GM crop developer leaves German soil

"BASF, the last firm still developing genetically modified crops in Germany is stopping its work, admitting defeat in the face of widespread European opposition to to the idea."

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