EconomyLast updated: 17:53, 29 September 2026

Economy

Economy

Growth, jobs, the budget, and the forces moving the economy.

People relaxing and reading by a lake in a Berlin park during the summer heat

Germany's Summer Heatwaves Cost the Economy 25 Billion Euros, Study Finds

A new Allianz analysis puts the economic toll of this year's heatwaves in Germany at around 25 billion euros, driven mainly by lost workplace productivity, while a separate Greenpeace estimate that factors in health and crop damage runs even higher

A fuel price board and passing car at a German gas station as pump prices spike

Germany Agrees to Cut Fuel Taxes and Cap Pump Prices as Costs Spike

Facing record pump prices and rising inflation, Germany's federal government and states have agreed to cut fuel taxes by around 17 cents a liter through the end of the year and to work toward a temporary price cap on gasoline and diesel starting in January

Gas storage infrastructure in Germany at dusk, as officials say refill targets for winter fell short of expectations

Germany's Gas Grid Manager Admits Storage Refill Season Fell Short of Hopes

The operator overseeing Germany's gas trading system says this summer's push to refill storage tanks proved harder than expected, leaving reserves below the range officials consider comfortable just as the country heads into another winter of tight energy margins

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is pressing his cabinet to speed up pro growth economic reforms

Merz to Push Cabinet for Faster Pro Growth Reforms at Brandenburg Retreat

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to urge his ministers to speed up long promised reforms on taxes, pensions, deregulation and digitalisation, telling his cabinet that reviving growth and jobs is the government's most pressing task

A trader at the Frankfurt stock exchange surrounded by monitors showing market data

Government Borrowing Costs Hit Multi-Decade Highs as a Global Bond Rout Reaches Germany

Long-term borrowing costs for governments have climbed to their highest in decades, from Washington to Tokyo, and Germany has not escaped the slide
Rising yields on the safest debt are a warning about swelling deficits and stubborn inflation

A cargo barge on the Rhine at low water with exposed sandbanks and a castle near Kaub

The Rhine Falls to a Record Low, Stalling Shipping and Squeezing German Industry

Water on the Rhine has dropped to its lowest level since records began in 1880, leaving barges stranded at the river's shallowest point and forcing German industry to scramble for costly alternatives just as a summer drought tightens its grip

A container ship being loaded at a port with cranes and stacked shipping containers

Germany's Trade Deficit With China Swells to 55 Billion Euros as Exports Slide

Germany has recorded a trade gap of about 55 billion euros with China, as its exports to the country fall while Chinese goods pour in
The reversal marks a hard turn for an economy long used to selling more to China than it buys

What's Driving Tungsten Demand?

What's Driving Tungsten Demand?

Sponsored by MarketSmart Communications Inc
on Behalf of Fox Tungsten Ltd.   Authored by Lemuel Daher

Founders and guests at a startup networking event in Berlin

Germany Approves a 152 Point Plan to Stop Its Best Startups Leaving Home

The cabinet has signed off a startup strategy aimed at a single stubborn problem, that the country is good at founding companies but poor at keeping them here once they grow

Fuel pump nozzle with EU and climate policy overtones representing carbon pricing on transport fuel

Ten EU States Push Back on Brussels Over Carbon Charge for Heating and Fuel

A bloc of ten member states led by Italy and Poland wants Brussels to soften a planned carbon price on heating oil and road fuel before it starts in 2028, and together they hold enough votes to force the argument

A customer orders at a doner kebab stand on a German street at dusk

How the Price of a Doner Became Germany's Real Inflation Gauge

The doner kebab has quietly turned into the number Germans trust more than any official statistic, a street food barometer of the cost of living that now shapes dinner table anger and party politics alike

German coalition leaders including Friedrich Merz speak at a news conference in front of German and EU flags

How Germany's Health and Pension Reforms Could Hit Your Wallet

A wave of German health and pension reforms means many households should brace for paying more and getting less, from higher GKV contributions and co-payments to a bigger push to save privately for retirement

German officials present a report at a news conference in front of the federal eagle emblem

Germany's Pension Overhaul Offers Younger Workers Relief, but Not an Easy Road

Germany is planning a sweeping pension overhaul, raising the retirement age toward 70 and adding a state investment fund to ease the load on younger workers, though analysts warn the relief will come only slowly

A hand holds a pen over a printed financial chart with rising and falling lines

Germany Finalizes Its 2027 Budget, Closing a 21 Billion Euro Gap

Germany has finalized its 2027 draft budget, with Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil closing a 21 billion euro gap by tapping part of a reserve he had hoped to leave untouched, Handelsblatt reports