http://www.spiegel.de Daily news, analysis and opinion from Europe's leading newsmagazine and Germany's top news Web site. en Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:30:10 +0100 Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:30:10 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de http://www.spiegel.de/static/sys/logo_120x61.gif http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,814936,00.html#ref=rss Last week, European aviation safety authorities ordered all Airbus A380s to be checked after hairline cracks were found in wing brackets. Now SPIEGEL has learned that the inspections and repairs could cost Airbus parent EADS up to 100 million euros -- over 1 million euros per plane. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:43:25 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,814936,00.html Last week, European aviation safety authorities ordered all Airbus A380s to be checked after hairline cracks were found in wing brackets. Now SPIEGEL has learned that the inspections and repairs could cost Airbus parent EADS up to 100 million euros -- over 1 million euros per plane. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,813907,00.html#ref=rss Concrete pump manufacturer Putzmeister is the first top-tier German company to be acquired by a Chinese company eager to get its hands on Western know-how, but it is unlikely to be the last. The acquisition could be the start of a new strategy as China tries to transform itself into a high-tech economy. And the Germans might even benefit too. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:08:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,813907,00.html Concrete pump manufacturer Putzmeister is the first top-tier German company to be acquired by a Chinese company eager to get its hands on Western know-how, but it is unlikely to be the last. The acquisition could be the start of a new strategy as China tries to transform itself into a high-tech economy. And the Germans might even benefit too.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,814056,00.html#ref=rss US automaker General Motors is reportedly losing its patience with its European unit Opel/Vauxhall. Steep losses may now result in factory closures and layoffs, including the Opel factory in Bochum, Germany, according to media reports. The labor conflict could be reminiscent of 2009, when GM elected not to sell Opel. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:06:43 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,814056,00.html US automaker General Motors is reportedly losing its patience with its European unit Opel/Vauxhall. Steep losses may now result in factory closures and layoffs, including the Opel factory in Bochum, Germany, according to media reports. The labor conflict could be reminiscent of 2009, when GM elected not to sell Opel.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,814026,00.html#ref=rss Australian airline Qantas has temporarily suspended flights with one of its A380 super jumbo jet aircraft after hairline cracks were found. In the light of the discovery, Europe's aviation safety authority has ordered inspections on all the Airbus double-decker planes in service. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:34:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,814026,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,813544,00.html#ref=rss China said on Monday it was forbidding its airlines from joining a European Union carbon emissions scheme to protect the climate. The companies now face fines or may even be barred from landing at EU airports. The dispute comes as the EU is looking to China to help tackle the euro debt crisis.  Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:13:56 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,813544,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812951,00.html#ref=rss Outgoing Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann presided over his final annual press conference on Thursday. His legacy will be that of transforming Germany's largest financial institution into a profit machine. But in the end, he lost control of the specters he unleashed. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:39:37 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812951,00.html Outgoing Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann presided over his final annual press conference on Thursday. His legacy will be that of transforming Germany's largest financial institution into a profit machine. But in the end, he lost control of the specters he unleashed.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812932,00.html#ref=rss It's back to the drawing board for stock exchange companies Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext after the European Commission blocked their merger plans. German commentators ask if the megal-deal was even a good idea in the first place. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:52:07 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812932,00.html It's back to the drawing board for stock exchange companies Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext after the European Commission blocked their merger plans. German commentators ask if the megal-deal was even a good idea in the first place.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812714,00.html#ref=rss French defense manufacturer Dassault has beaten EADS for the right to negotiate exclusively with the Indian government on the sale of 126 fighter jets. Still, the deal could ultimately collapse -- in the past, all other talks to sell Dassault's Rafale aircraft abroad have failed. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:38:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812714,00.html French defense manufacturer Dassault has beaten EADS for the right to negotiate exclusively with the Indian government on the sale of 126 fighter jets. Still, the deal could ultimately collapse -- in the past, all other talks to sell Dassault's Rafale aircraft abroad have failed. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812709,00.html#ref=rss The European Commission has vetoed a planned merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext stock exchanges, saying that it would have created a quasi-monopoly in certain kinds of trading. Deutsche Börse called it "a black day for Europe." Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812709,00.html The European Commission has vetoed a planned merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext stock exchanges, saying that it would have created a quasi-monopoly in certain kinds of trading. Deutsche Börse called it "a black day for Europe."]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812212,00.html#ref=rss The transition of power at Germany's largest bank is being overshadowed by the fallout from dubious deals in the US made at a time when incoming co-CEO Anshu Jain was head of investment banking. The bank faces a number of lawsuits, and the compensation claims are so large that regulators have asked Deutsche Bank to quantify them. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:02:41 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,812212,00.html The transition of power at Germany's largest bank is being overshadowed by the fallout from dubious deals in the US made at a time when incoming co-CEO Anshu Jain was head of investment banking. The bank faces a number of lawsuits, and the compensation claims are so large that regulators have asked Deutsche Bank to quantify them.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,811405,00.html#ref=rss The online service Groupon has brought coupon cutting into the Internet age and turned it into an immensely profitable business. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, company founder Andrew Mason discusses Groupon's skyrocketing growth, complaints about cheap customers and the future of small-scale retail. Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:18:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,811405,00.html The online service Groupon has brought coupon cutting into the Internet age and turned it into an immensely profitable business. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, company founder Andrew Mason discusses Groupon's skyrocketing growth, complaints about cheap customers and the future of small-scale retail.]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,798290,00.html#ref=rss With more than a million downloads of its first app and a big investment from Skype's co-founder, 6Wunderkinder is already a significant player in the Berlin start-up scene. It now wants to establish itself as a major European company with the soon-to-be-released Wunderkit, a "Facebook for the workplace." Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:51:01 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,798290,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,809341,00.html#ref=rss In a SPIEGEL interview, top German industrialist Wolfgang Reitzle argues that Germany should withdraw from the currency union if Europe's crisis-ridden countries fail to push through reforms. But whatever happens, Greece will have to leave the euro zone, he warns. Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:57:41 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,809341,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,809332,00.html#ref=rss Germany's second largest bank is looking at other options to increase its capital by 5.3 billion euros in order to avoid another government bailout. This week, the bank must submit plans to increase its capital to the European Banking Authority. Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:28:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,809332,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,809300,00.html#ref=rss The European Union wants to tighten controls on the rules that determine which products can carry the "Made in Germany" label. Germany's leading industry group is outraged, warning the move could hinder the success of the world's second-largest exporter. Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:12:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,809300,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,808592,00.html#ref=rss Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are pressing forward with plans to introduce a financial transaction tax in the EU -- if necessary without Britain, home to Europe's largest financial center. Critics believe it will cause an exodus of the industry from the euro zone. But a closer look at the proposal suggests the worst wouldn't necessarily come true. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:48:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,808592,00.html Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are pressing forward with plans to introduce a financial transaction tax in the EU -- if necessary without Britain, home to Europe's largest financial center. Critics believe it will cause an exodus of the industry from the euro zone. But a closer look at the proposal suggests the worst wouldn't necessarily come true. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,808582,00.html#ref=rss The German economy grew strongly last year, despite the European debt crisis. Gross domestic product jumped by 3 percent, while the national deficit sank, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Wednesday. But experts warn that, given the slight contraction in the final quarter of last year, Germany could enter a recession in 2012. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:50:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,808582,00.html The German economy grew strongly last year, despite the European debt crisis. Gross domestic product jumped by 3 percent, while the national deficit sank, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Wednesday. But experts warn that, given the slight contraction in the final quarter of last year, Germany could enter a recession in 2012. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,808071,00.html#ref=rss The president of the Swiss National Bank resigned on Monday amid ongoing suspicions about a lucrative currency trade made by his wife. Philipp Hildebrand said he could not prove he didn't know about the transaction and wanted to protect the central bank's reputation. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:55:23 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,808071,00.html The president of the Swiss National Bank resigned on Monday amid ongoing suspicions about a lucrative currency trade made by his wife. Philipp Hildebrand said he could not prove he didn't know about the transaction and wanted to protect the central bank's reputation. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,807582,00.html#ref=rss For years, foreign automobile companies have reaped most of the profits to be had in the enormous Chinese market. But in a largely unnoticed change, Beijing is now ending their preferential treatment of carmakers from abroad to focus more on developing domestic technology and brands. Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:10:13 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,807582,00.html For years, foreign automobile companies have reaped most of the profits to be had in the enormous Chinese market. But in a largely unnoticed change, Beijing is now ending their preferential treatment of carmakers from abroad to focus more on developing domestic technology and brands. ]]> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,807202,00.html#ref=rss Germany's famous Bauhaus school from 1919 to 1933 forged new boundaries in the art and design world and remains highly influential today. But its brand and legacy has been under threat for five decades from a large German-Swiss home goods retailer that took the title and trademark "Bauhaus" in 1960 and now has 190 stores around Europe. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:53:00 +0100 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,807202,00.html