The European Central Bank is considering a hybrid approach to government bond purchases which would combine the ECB buying debt with risk sharing across the euro zone and, in a nod to German qualms, separate purchases by national central banks.
Germany
RWE to close gas unit sale to Russian tycoon by early March
German utility RWE will complete the sale of oil and gas unit DEA [RWEDE.UL] to Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman by early March, it said on Friday, easing fears of a potential collapse.
Postbank head favors stock market sale: magazine
The chief executive of Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) retail arm Postbank (DPBGn.DE) strongly advocates having Deutsche sell a large portion of Postbank's shares on the stock market rather than to another bank, a German magazine reported on Saturday.
Deutsche Telekom looked at bidding for KPN in 2014
Deutsche Telekom considered making a takeover bid for Dutch rival KPN in 2014, with a view to expanding in neighboring countries, sources familiar with the matter said.
E.ON sells most of Italian business to Czech-based EPH
Germany's largest utility E.ON AG has agreed to sell its Italian gas- and coal-fired power plants to Czech energy company EPH, ridding itself of unwanted assets from an acquisition spree in 2007.
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Daimler (DAIGn.DE), maker of Mercedes-Benz and Smart-branded cars, said deliveries rose 11.4 percent in 2014, to a record 1,739,854 cars, thanks to a 30 percent sales jump in China and 25 percent higher registrations of Mercedes compact cars.
Euro zone economic sentiment was unchanged in December against the previous two months, data showed on Thursday, as a more upbeat end-of-year mood in the services and retail sectors and among consumers was offset by a gloomier industry.
Germany's unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 6.5 percent in December while Italy's pushed up to a new high of 13.4 percent, underscoring the vast differences within the struggling euro zone economy.
German consumer goods and industrial glue maker Henkel wants to expand in the area of consumer branded goods and hair care and could consider a large acquisition, the company's chairwoman told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Euro zone politicians are not obliged to rescue Greece as the country is no longer of systemic importance to the single currency bloc, a senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party was quoted as saying.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the risk of the central bank not fulfilling its mandate of preserving price stability was higher now than half a year ago, and reiterated its readiness to act early this year should it become necessary.
Martin Kapp gestures towards the sleek red Italian sports car standing in his barn in the heart of Germany, secure in the knowledge there is not another exactly like it in the world.
Germany plans to expand the network of charging stations for electric cars across the country to help boost lackluster demand, a Transport Ministry paper seen by Reuters showed.
The head of the panel of economic experts that advises the German government said on Sunday there was no reason for the European Central Bank (ECB) to start buying up sovereign bonds now to bolster euro zone growth.
