The German stock index (DAX) opened higher on Wednesday morning. At roughly 9:30 am, the index was at about 23,845 points, up 0.5 % on the previous close. The leading stocks were Heidelberg Materials, Deutsche Bank and Siemens Energy, while the bottom of the list included Deutsche Telekom, Hannover Rück and FMC. Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at Consorsbank, said that…
March 18, 2026
Kuban Defends Merz’s Iran Stance Against Trump Criticisms
Tilman Kuban, the Union’s (CDU/CSU) spokesperson for European politics, said there is no reason for Chancellor Friedrich Merz to alter his course after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent criticism. Kuban reminded viewers on RTL and ntv of Merz’s latest visit to Washington, where Trump thanked him, expressed satisfaction with the support Germany was…
March 18, 2026
Home Office Couples See 14% Birthrate Boost, Study Finds
In households that include at least one day of home‑office work per week, the average birth rate is 14 percent higher than in households that do not use home office at all. According to a new study from the Ifo Institute and Stanford University covering 38 countries, this translates into roughly one additional child over a woman’s lifetime for every three…
March 18, 2026
German Nursing Training Attracts Record 64,300 New Apprentices in 2025
About 64,300 trainees signed a new nursing contract in 2025, a roughly 8 % increase-about 4,900 more-than the 59,400 contracts recorded in 2024, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). These figures refer to trainees who still had an active contract as of 31 December 2025. The total number of trainees in nursing on that date also…
March 18, 2026
German Manufacturing Order Backlog Shrinks 0,4 % in January 2026
Germany’s real order book in manufacturing fell 0.4 percent in January 2026 compared with December when seasonally and calendar‑adjusted, according to provisional data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Compared with January 2025, the order book rose 6.6 percent on a calendar‑adjusted basis. The decline is mainly driven by the automotive sector,…
March 18, 2026
El Erian Warns Markets Are At A Critical Turning Point
Mohamed El‑Erian describes the markets as standing at a “tipping point”. In a Handelsblatt podcast he noted that even after three weeks of fighting in Iran, the conflict is already shaping long‑term outcomes for capital markets and the global economy. He warns that the war may still uncover hidden weaknesses in the United States, especially within credit funds.…
March 18, 2026
Strike at Berlin Brandenburg Airport Halts All Passenger Flights
On Wednesday morning a warning strike announced by the service union Verdi began at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). As a result of the work stoppages, no regular passenger flights will operate all day. The airport company has urged passengers to contact their airlines or travel agents for rebooking and alternative travel arrangements. Verdi accuses the employer of blocking…
March 18, 2026
DGB Speaks Out Against Health Fund Cuts Calls Reform Unfair
DGB chief Yasmin Fahimi has warned against raising contributions and cutting benefits in the health and long‑term care insurance debate. She told the newspaper group of the “Neuen Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft” that politicians should not get lost in trivial discussions about benefit reductions; instead, they must secure quality services by stopping…
March 18, 2026
Greens Slam Misuse of 500 Billion Euro Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate
The Green parliamentary group has issued a sharp criticism of how the €500 billion special fund’s investment money has been used for infrastructure and climate protection. According to a position paper that the “Rheinische Post” reported on in its Wednesday issue, the capital has largely been diverted from its intended purpose. “This deception must…
March 18, 2026
Taxpayers Association Fears Lazy Compromise as 49 Percent Top Rate Proposed
Reiner Holznagel, president of the German Taxpayers’ Federation, criticized a proposal by the Institute of German Economic Research (DIW) to raise the top income‑tax rate from 42 % to 49 %. “A reform of the income‑tax tariff is overdue” he told the Funke Media Group newspapers in Wednesday editions. He argues that it would be sensible to let the top rate…
March 18, 2026
Lindner Honors Westerwelle Legacy on Ten-Year Death Anniversary
On the tenth anniversary of the death of FDP politician Guido Westerwelle, former party leader Christian Lindner reflected on Westerwelle’s legacy. In an interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, Lindner said that Westerwelle had seen earlier than anyone else that the very foundations of our prosperity could be jeopardised by a misguided attitude. He noted that many…
March 18, 2026
Jewish Council Denounces Lower Saxony Left Party Vote Against Real-Existing Zionism
The Central Council of Jews has condemned a newly adopted resolution by the Lower Saxony Left party that denounces “the actually existing Zionism”. President Josef Schuster, speaking to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”, said the resolution essentially gives a home to the anti‑Semitism the party has long denied in its public statements. Schuster argued…
