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Car rental company Sixt criticizes EU draft – fleet rules from 2030 cause controversy
Sixt is responding to a new initiative from the EU Commission, as the draft targets large vehicle fleets from 2030 onwards. This brings the ban on combustion engines for many new registrations within reach sooner, and at the same time, the available charging infrastructure will determine whether the electric fleet functions reliably in the rental…
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Cooperative banks in a crisis of confidence – scandals, risky deals and increasing bailouts
Cooperative banks, especially Volksbanken, are considered stable because of their regional roots and their financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, several cases show that risk management and controls are not keeping pace everywhere, while at the same time the economy is slowing down their core business. Discussions with industry experts also reveal that…
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Solar subsidies are driving up electricity costs
Solar subsidies have massively accelerated the expansion of photovoltaics in Germany, and they now shape electricity prices and grid expansion. Feed-in tariffs, the EEG surcharge, grid fees, and periods of low wind and solar output are closely intertwined. Understanding this system also reveals its weaknesses. The German government is providing almost €30 billion for such…
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District heating network in the Karlsruhe district has failed – municipalities withdraw from geothermal energy planning
Stutensee is the latest municipality to withdraw from the district heating network project, as performance, timeline, and economic viability no longer align. Previously, Bruchsal and Bretten had already announced their withdrawal from the large-scale project. The project development company was intended to bring district heating from deep geothermal sources to the region, with the municipal…
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Japan halts subsidies for solar parks – an end to landscape destruction
Japan is planning a major overhaul, with solar parks set to receive less funding from government programs in the future. At the same time, Tokyo intends to re-evaluate environmental protection, feed-in tariff regulations, perovskite mining, and conflict zones like Hokkaido to safeguard landscapes and make projects safer. (reuters: 24.12.25) Local conflicts are accelerating the change…
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Job cuts in the metal industry – Gesamtmetall warns of 10,000 lost jobs per month
Employment has been declining for 21 months, and job cuts in the metal industry remain the dominant issue in the metal and electrical engineering sector. Oliver Zander of Gesamtmetall attributes this development to excessively high energy costs for industry and taxes, while also warning of increasing EU bureaucracy, as this slows down processes and further…
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Bundesbank sounds the alarm – Merz is steering Germany towards a dangerous constitutional crisis
The Bundesbank is issuing an unusually sharp warning. It considers Chancellor Merz’s fiscal policy risky. Politicians are accepting a growing budget deficit, even though the debt brake could foreseeably be violated. This is precisely where the danger of a constitutional crisis arises. This combination of high levels of new debt, growing uncertainty, and a lack…
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Record electricity prices in 2026 – government pays €29.5 billion in subsidies
The German government plans to spend a record €29.5 billion in 2026 to stabilize electricity prices, cover rising energy transition costs, relieve pressure on industrial electricity, and cushion increasingly frequent surplus electricity. This scale is unprecedented, significantly exceeding previous aid programs. However, there is growing concern that short-term relief without structural reforms will lead to…
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Mega-project failed – Europe’s largest insect farm closes despite millions in subsidies
The insect farm was intended to be Europe’s flagship project for sustainable protein production, but despite millions of euros in public subsidies and several hundred million euros in private financing, the venture failed. In total, more than $620 million was invested in the project. For years, the insect farm was considered an innovative project, but…
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Active pension: Tax bonus for employees – targeted disadvantage for the self-employed
The new active pension scheme is supposedly modern, secures the future, and motivates older people to continue working. But it only applies to employees. The self-employed remain excluded. With this, policymakers are deliberately creating a two-tier society for the elderly. They are exacerbating inequality instead of resolving it, and they are ignoring economic reality at…
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Insufficient demand – Porsche abandons its own charging network in China
Porsche is ending its own charging network in China because it’s simply no longer profitable. Demand for Porsche electric models was significantly weaker than expected, station usage remained low, and maintenance costs were high. At the same time, the Chinese market intensified the pressure from strong domestic competitors and a more densely developed infrastructure. Therefore,…
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Transport revolution in Brandenburg – 46 hydrogen buses are idle, millions are wasted
The transport transition in Brandenburg is increasingly becoming a strain. In Cottbus, 46 new hydrogen buses are sitting unused in the depot, even though each vehicle cost around €650,000. The fuel is lacking. At times, the buses had to be transported on diesel low-loaders to distant filling stations. Simultaneously, the delivery of ordered electric buses…
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Wind turbine nacelle collapses – oil contaminates soil – recovery operation takes months
In October, a serious wind turbine collapsed in Havixbeck. The turbine’s nacelle, along with the rotor blades, tore from the tower and crashed to the ground. This resulted in an oil spill, the extent of which has not yet been fully assessed. The soil contamination remains unclear because key components have not yet been recovered.…
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Katherina Reiche and the growth problem – why longer working hours are not enough
Katherina Reiche has sparked a debate that extends far beyond traditional economic issues. For the first time, she openly stated that the promise of prosperity to the next generation can no longer be kept. This statement carries significant weight because it marks a historic turning point. At the same time, Reiche is calling for longer…
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The German army buys a new pistol cheaply abroad – while Berlin demands local patriotism
The German Armed Forces’ new pistol represents a political contradiction with significant symbolic implications. The current arms contract is going abroad, even though German politicians are demanding greater local pride from businesses and announcing a strategically oriented procurement policy. The government is deliberately choosing the cheaper supplier outside Germany, while simultaneously demanding greater loyalty to…