Economic news on companies, work, consumer issues, markets and developments in Germany and Europe.
Deutsche Bahn is taking legal action against a decision by the Federal Network Agency that would force it to give competitors more space on busy long-distance routes. The agency ruled in July that the state-owned company must free up more capacity for rivals on heavily used lines.
The German railway company Deutsche Bahn has offered support to keep supply chains running during low water levels. This was announced at a meeting of Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger with his state counterparts.
The travel group TUI earned significantly less than expected in the third quarter due to the Iran war and weak economy. According to Tagesschau, adjusted operating profit fell by 27 percent to 234 million euros from April to June.
The German government plans to support small and medium-sized enterprises in 2027 with around 12 billion euros from the ERP special fund. The cabinet has approved the corresponding economic plan.
The DAX is expected to open nearly unchanged on Wednesday. According to Tagesschau, investors are mainly waiting for the latest US inflation data, which will be released at 2:30 PM.
Annual inflation in Ukraine accelerated to 7.7 percent in July, up from 7.2 percent in June, according to the state statistics service. Core inflation remained unchanged at 8.1 percent.
The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, driven by disappointing US labor market data. The index rose 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq gained 1.3 percent.
Since the 2012 reform, more than seven million vehicles in Germany have been driving with so-called Heimatkennzeichen (homeland license plates). This is shown by a study from Heilbronn University.
German CIOs plan to invest their IT budgets primarily in cybersecurity and modernization in 2026 and 2027. According to a Lünendonk study, 92 percent intend to spend more on IT security.
Germany's Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) expects consumers and industry to benefit from significantly lower electricity prices only in the 2030s. She told the dpa news agency that noticeable relief would not come before then.
Expensive crude oil and high fuel prices are bringing international oil companies enormous extra profits. British company BP has doubled its net profit.
Demand for organic food continued to rise in the second quarter. Retail sales increased by 3.8 percent, according to the Federation of Organic Food Industry (BÖLW).
Associations from the construction and housing sectors warn of a massive setback for residential construction. In an open letter to the federal government, they demand that planned savings in the federal budget be withdrawn.
Inflation in Hesse rose to 2.7 percent in July – the first increase since March. According to the state statistical office, the main reason is higher prices for fuel and heating oil after tax cuts expired.
Germany's state-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) reported a profit in the low hundreds of millions of euros for the first half of 2026, after a loss of around 760 million euros in the same period last year.
The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) Rhineland-Palatinate has sharply criticized the federal government's healthcare reform. KV deputy Andreas Bartels warns of painful consequences for patients.
Renewed fighting in the Iran war has driven up oil prices and put Asian stock markets under pressure. The DAX is expected to start trading with losses.
The German government has abolished several bureaucratic obligations for businesses. As of July 24, 2026, the mandatory continuing education requirement for real estate agents will be lifted.
OpenAI plans a fundamental overhaul of ChatGPT in the coming weeks, turning it into a comprehensive super app. The company aims to integrate programming tools and autonomous AI agents to unlock new revenue streams and prepare for an initial public offering.
Germany's DAX index closed 0.7% higher at 25,011 points on Tuesday, reclaiming the psychologically important 25,000 mark.
The online fashion retailer Zalando is planning to cut around 200 more jobs at its Berlin headquarters, according to a media report citing internal documents.
The DAX remained stable at 24,847 points on Monday. Tensions in the Middle East influenced the markets.
The EU Commission has proposed temporarily relaxing methane rules in response to warnings about supply shortages. Violations of the requirements will not be penalized for now.
Italian rail operator Italo has ordered 26 high-speed trains from Siemens Mobility for three billion euros. The company plans to enter Germany's long-distance rail market from 2028.
EU member states, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and private investors have set up an 80-billion-euro fund to promote young technology companies, the EIB announced on the sidelines of an EU finance ministers' meeting in Brussels.
The savings plan for Germany's statutory health insurance funds (GKV) is driving the pharmaceutical industry out of the country, warns Bayer board member Stefan Oelrich in a guest commentary for Handelsblatt. The federal government is thus risking one of the last high-tech sectors in which Europe still leads globally.
Germany's benchmark DAX index is expected to open nearly unchanged, according to initial calculations. Despite ongoing US strikes on Iran and a rally in chip stocks in New York and Asia, the DAX is unable to benefit from the gains.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume presented his new 'Group Target Picture' to the supervisory board – a radical downsizing plan involving plant closures and billions in cuts. But the board refused to approve it, as Handelsblatt reports.
Volkswagen's supervisory board meeting, the works council has given CEO Oliver Blume until Friday to unequivocally address rumors about potential plant closures, according to NDR.
The German Association of Family Doctors has called on the country's 16 states to stop a planned savings package aimed at stabilizing statutory health insurance contributions. The Bundestag is set to vote on the bill on Friday.
The neobroker Trade Republic has reached an out-of-court settlement with the consumer advice center of Baden-Württemberg over its interest rate offering. According to WirtschaftsWoche, Trade Republic agreed to stop using certain advertising claims.
Salzgitter AG is fully acquiring Duisburg-based steel company HKM. Around 2,000 of the 3,000 jobs are expected to be eliminated.
The electronics chain Saturn has shrunk to 27 stores, but parent company Ceconomy does not plan to abandon the brand. Starting in 2027, Saturn showrooms are planned in MediaMarkt stores, the company announced.
According to a survey by credit agency Crif, more than half of Germans plan to save more or cut spending in the future. Nearly four out of five respondents worry about their financial situation.
The US oil company ExxonMobil is investing one billion dollars in Nigeria, marking its return to drilling activities in the country. The new project is expected to deliver first production within 18 months.
From July 9 to 20, there will be a transition period before new conditions take effect on July 21. Anyone who already has a valid confirmation of application or a technical project description can still apply under the previous conditions during the transition period.
Germany builds too expensively and too complicatedly. A new study shows that excessive standards are slowing housing construction and that square meter prices have risen by 600 euros in 25 years.
In Hesse, a federal housing corporation is seen as unnecessary. According to FAZ, the state already has capable companies building homes, such as in Frankfurt's Schönhofviertel, the largest new development quarter in Hesse.
Oil prices have risen again while the DAX posted significant losses. The reason is the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which are unsettling investors, as reported by Tagesschau.
Deutsche Bahn has announced another delay in the renovation of the Nuremberg-Regensburg line. The company said the connection, which has been closed since February, will now remain shut until July 31.