Latest Germany Headlines

All the headlines from our Germany Topic Page, ordered by recency.

EU Proposes Cross-Border Bank Rescues

May 30 2012 // European Union countries could be obliged to bail out one another’s struggling banks, according to a draft EU law that marks a big step towards greater EU financial integration likely to upset some members,...

Tackling Euro Zone Crisis is Top Priority for G8 Leaders

May 18 2012 // Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common...

Court Bans Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Windows 7 from German Market

May 3 2012 // A court in Mannheim, Germany ruled on Wednesday that Microsoft infringed Motorola Mobility’s patents and ordered Microsoft to remove its Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows 7 operating system software from the...

Appeals Court Hears Fraud Claim Against Goldman, TCW Over CDOs

Apr 2 2012 // A U.S. appeals court was asked on Friday to decide whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and TCW Asset Management Co. should have foreseen the housing market implosion that caused a $37 million loss for German state-owned...

Best Affirms Ratings of HDI Hftp. der Deutschen Industrie, Talanx AG

Feb 17 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” of Germany’s HDI Haftpflichtverband...

Best Affirms HDI-Gerling Industrie Versicherung AG, and Subs Ratings

Feb 17 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Germany’s HDI-Gerling Industrie...

PIP Breast Implant Scandal Exposes Weaknesses in EU Safety Net

Feb 3 2012 // In June 2000, when American medical regulators posted a warning letter on the Internet about problems at a breast-implant maker in southern France, French authorities didn’t pay much attention. A U.S. Food and Drug...

Euro Zone Ministers Reject Private Bondholders’ Offer on Greek Bonds

Jan 24 2012 // Euro zone finance ministers on Monday rejected as insufficient an offer made by private bondholders to help restructure Greece’s debts, sending negotiators back to the drawing board and raising the threat of Greek...

Markel Enters Germany Through Joint Venture with Anglo Underwriting

Jan 23 2012 // Markel International has made a move to start writing business in Germany through a joint venture with Anglo Underwriting. With Markel’s support, Anglo’s primary focus will be to increase opportunities in...

Allianz Ready to Convert Commerzbank Non-voting Stake Say Sources

Jan 11 2012 // German insurer Allianz is ready to adjust its €750 million [$952 million] non-voting capital stake in Commerzbank to help the German lender strengthen its balance sheet, two sources familiar with the talks between the...

Windstorm Andrea, First of 2012, Causes Damage in Europe: AIR Report

Jan 9 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Windstorm Andrea passed through the U.K. earlier this week, fast on the heels of Windstorm Ulli, which brought widespread travel and power disruptions to Scotland. The...

California Arson Suspect Also Faces German Fire Probe

Jan 6 2012 // The man who allegedly ignited more than 50 fires that terrorized Los Angeles last week is also under investigation in Germany for a house fire near Frankfurt. U.S. investigators also disclosed that a search of Harry...

AXA, Japan Post Top Best’s List of World’s Largest Insurers

Jan 4 2012 // France’s AXA S.A. has again topped the list of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies, based on premiums written, compiled by A.M. Best. The lists, which were compiled both on asset value and on net...

Connecticut, German Regulators Sign Cooperation Agreement

Dec 22 2011 // Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi announced this week that the Connecticut’s insurance department entered into its third cooperative agreement with a European financial regulator — the second...

Europe Moves Ahead with Fiscal Union; UK Isolated

Dec 9 2011 // Europe divided on Friday in a historic rift over building a fiscal union to preserve the euro, with a large majority of countries led by Germany and France agreeing to move ahead with a separate treaty, leaving Britain...

Holocaust Survivors in U.S. Seek $20B in Nazi-era Policies

Nov 17 2011 // Thousands of aging Holocaust survivors in the U.S. want Congress to clear a path for them to sue European insurance companies they contend illegally confiscated Jewish life insurance policies during the Nazi era and have...

Torus Strengthens European P&C Platforms with New Appointments

Nov 17 2011 // Torus Insurance announced that it has “enhanced its offering in Europe with the appointment of Brian Byrnes as Senior Underwriter for General Property and Marco Sonntag as Senior Underwriter for Casualty.” They...

AIR Worldwide Launches Inland Flood Model for Germany

Nov 8 2011 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide has released an inland flood model for Germany, which it said “offers a fully probabilistic approach for determining the likelihood of flood losses from all types of...

France, Germany Give Greece Ultimatum on Euro

Nov 3 2011 // The leaders of Germany and France told Greece on Wednesday it would not receive another cent in European aid until it decides whether it wants to stay in the euro zone. They also made clear that saving the euro was...

Greek Referendum Plan Threatens New Euro Zone Crisis

Nov 1 2011 // Prime Minister George Papandreou’s shock announcement that he will put Greece’s bailout to a referendum threatened to intensify the euro zone crisis, and brought complaints in Germany that Athens is trying to...