Germany
Elia to Buy Vattenfall's German Power Grid, Beating Allianz, Deutsche Bank Elia System Operator NV, Belgium’s
high-voltage power grid operator, and Industry Funds Management
Ltd. beat out Allianz SE, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche
Bank AG to buy Vattenfall AB’s electricity network in Germany.
Stocks Gain in Germany as Deutsche Post, Volkswagen Rise; Rational Falls German stocks rose, set for a
second weekly increase, as gains in Deutsche Post AG and
automobile shares more than offset declines in Rational AG and
Kontron AG.
Volkswagen Shares Rise for Second Day in Frankfurt on Porsche Funding Plan Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest
carmaker, gained for a second day in Frankfurt after announcing
funding plans for the takeover of Porsche SE’s carmaking unit.
European Union Ministers Said to Discuss EU Bonds to Fund Any Greek Rescue European Union finance ministers
will discuss next week whether any Greek bailout should be
funded by issuing EU bonds guaranteed by euro region
governments, said three people briefed on preparations for March
15-16 meetings.
German Household Spending Rose 0.4% in 2009, Driven by `Cash for Clunkers' German household spending rose 0.4
percent in 2009, driven by the government’s “cash-for-
clunkers” program.
Ratiopharm Beats 2009 Earnings Goal, Says Takeover Feedback Is `Positive' Ratiopharm GmbH, the German
drugmaker being sold by the Merckle family, beat its own
forecast with 307 million euros ($423 million) in earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization last year.
Fresenius Obtains Lower Interest on Loan, to Take Charge in First Quarter Fresenius SE improved the terms of
its 2008 syndicated credit agreement through an amendment
supported by a majority of its lenders, the company said in an
e-mailed statement today. The interest rate of the term loan B
of approximately $1.2 billion will be reduced by one-third and
one-time expenses related to the amendment will impact the
company’s results for the first quarter of 2010. Fresenius
expects a positive contribution to Group earnings for the full
fiscal year, it said.
Dyckerhoff Proposes 50% Lower Dividend as Full-Year Sales, Net Income Fall Dyckerhoff AG proposed a dividend
of 1.00 euro per ordinary share as full-year net income
declined.
Juncker Says Greece's Budgetary Measures Will `Convince' Capital Markets Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker,
who leads the group of euro-area finance ministers, said he
believes that the Greek consolidation measures will convince
capital markets.
Schaeuble Calls for Expulsion From Euro for Countries Flouting Debt Rules German Finance Minister Wolfgang
Schaeuble called for “prohibitive” sanctions including
expulsion from the euro region as the ultimate penalty for
countries that repeatedly flout debt rules.
Minister Sees `Broad Agreement' In Government on Plan to Cut Drug Spending German Health Minister Philipp
Roesler said lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party
came to “broad agreement” on aspects of health care reform
after he met with health-policy experts from the Christian
Democratic Union late yesterday. The minister is “optimistic”
that the coalition can come to an agreement on a plan that could
curb payments by public-health insurers to drug producers, a
ministry spokesman said today in Berlin.
Berlin's Wild Boar Population Is Cut in Half by Hunters, Winter Weather The German capital’s wild boar
population has been cut by more than half to about 3,000 because
of hunting and cold winters, city officials said.