German business morale improves again in April
German business sentiment rose for a third consecutive month in April, a key survey showed Wednesday, as hopes grow that a recovery is getting under way in Europe’s stuttering top economy.
The Ifo institute’s closely-watched confidence barometer, based on a survey of around 9,000 companies, rose to 89.4 points, up from 87.9 points in March.
The increase was slightly higher than analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected.
The business climate reading rose across all sectors surveyed by Ifo — manufacturing, services, trade and construction.
“Sentiment has improved at companies in Germany,” Ifo president Clemens Fuest said in a statement.
“The economy is stabilising,” he added.
READ ALSO: Is Germany’s ailing economy on the road to recovery?
On Wednesday, the government slightly increased its 2024 growth forecast, saying there were signs Europe’s beleaguered top economy was at a “turning point” after battling through a period of weakness.
Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.
The German economy shrank by 0.3 percent last year as it grappled with costly energy, high interest rates and weak demand from key trading partners.
But signs are growing that a modest rebound has begun, partly thanks to improvements in industrial output and exports.
Disruption to German flights expected Thursday
A strike by French air traffic controllers was called off at the last moment after a deal was reached – but significant disruption is expected, including to and from Germany.
Connections to and from Germany, including Lufthansa flights, are likely to be hit with delays and cancellations Restrictions are in place until Friday morning.
A notice on Lufthansa’s website said the airline expected “disruptions to the Lufthansa Group’s flight schedule to and from French airports”.
Travellers should check their flight status and, if necessary, contact their airline directly.
Germany to resume working with UN agency for Palestinians
Israel alleged in January that some United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) employees may have participated in the October 7th Hamas attacks that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
In the weeks that followed, numerous donor states, including Germany, suspended or paused some $450 million in funding.
Many, including Sweden, Canada and Japan had since resumed funding.
Following the independent review’s release on Monday, Germany — Europe’s biggest economy, and a major donor to UNRWA — said it would also “continue its cooperation” with the agency again.
“Germany will coordinate closely with its closest international partners to disburse further funds,” said the German foreign and development ministries in a joint statement.
Germany said it was aiming to support “UNRWA’s vital and currently irreplaceable role in providing for the people in Gaza”.
READ ALSO: Police ban pro-Palestinian congress in Berlin
UNRWA and other UN agencies must be able to carry out their jobs of distributing aid in the territory, which was “more important than ever in light of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” the statement said.
The review, led by French diplomat Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues” at the agency but noted “Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence” for its claim that UNRWA employs more than 400 “terrorists.”
The neutrality issues highlighted included staff sharing biased political posts on social media and the use of a small number of textbooks with “problematic content” in some UNRWA schools.
German police swoop on Nigerian dating scammers
German police said on Wednesday they had arrested 11 suspected members of a Nigerian mafia group behind a large-scale dating scam.
The Black Axe gang was involved internationally in “multiple areas of criminal activity”, with a focus in Germany on romance scams and money-laundering, Bavarian police said in a statement.
The dating trick was a “modern form of marriage fraud”, police said.
“Using false identities, the fraudsters for example signalled their intention to marry and in the course of further contact repeatedly demand money under various pretexts,” police said.
The money was subsequently transferred to Black Axe in Nigeria “via financial agents”, authorities said.
In the process, the gang used a “commodity-based money laundering” scheme where products, often with a seeming “charitable purpose” were bought and delivered to Nigeria.
Some 450 cases of romance scamming had been reported in the region of Bavaria in 2023 alone, with the damages rising to €5.3 million ($5.7 million), police said.
The suspects, who all held Nigerian citizenship and were aged between 29 and 53, were arrested in nationwide raids on Tuesday.
Law enforcement swooped on 19 properties, including both homes and asylum shelters, police said.
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