FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A full takeover of Suzuki Motor (7269.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) by Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is seen as unlikely after the Japanese company sought a divorce from a two-year partnership with Europe’s biggest automaker that was marred by disagreements.

German magazine Der Spiegel cited an unnamed senior manager at VW as saying he did not rule out a full takeover of Suzuki, shortly after two months of squabbling between the two companies came to a head.

FRANKFURT, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Germany’s engineering industry
faces slower growth next year and will only see business pick up
again if there is an effective solution to the European debt
crisis, trade body VDMA said.

“Engineering output will reach its peak in real terms during
the course of 2012,” VDMA President Thomas Lindner told
journalists on Thursday, according to a prepared speech text.

FRANKFURT, Aug 24 (Reuters) – A German court said it doubted
that the German state’s monopoly on sports betting was legal
ahead of a planned relaxation of the country’s stringent
gambling laws.

The state of Hesse’s administrative court based its doubts
on the fact that the German government had reacted
insufficiently to the immense growth of gambling offers in areas
other than sports betting, particularly in amusement arcades,
and that regulators had so far not objected to aggressive
advertising by the state-run lottery.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Air Berlin’s (AB1.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Joachim Hunold quit on Thursday after the carrier posted a quarterly loss and cut its network in the quest for a first annual profit since 2007.

Shares of Air Berlin, Germany’s second-biggest airline after Lufthansa (LHAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), turned positive after the announcement, rising as much as 4.4 percent, and were 2.6 percent higher at 2.49 euros by 0917 GMT.

FRANKFURT, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Loss-making Air Berlin
said it was unable to pass rising costs from a German
air travel tax and high fuel prices on to customers, forcing it
to slim down its route network to become profitable.

Air Berlin, which has not posted an annual net profit since
2007, warned on Thursday that low-cost carriers would suffer
disproportionately from the tax levied in Germany since the
start of the year.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are both willing to develop further their exclusive talks, begun last month, on power station ventures and gas prices, the German utility said on Tuesday.

“There is a match of interests. We want to conclude a new, modernized gas supply treaty with our biggest supplier … while Gazprom for its part wants to increase its value creation here,” Chief Executive Juergen Grossmann said in a press call.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – RWE’s (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) first-half core net profit fell 40 percent, hit by a government decision to phase out nuclear power and unprofitable gas sales, highlighting the problems faced by the German utility’s new CEO-designate.

Germany’s largest power producer said on Tuesday first-half profit took a 900 million euro ($845 million) hit from provisions to decommission nuclear power plants, the write-off of nuclear fuel rods and a nuclear fuel tax.

FRANKFURT, Aug 9 (Reuters) – First-half core net profit at
RWE plunged 40 percent, hit by Germany’s decision to
phase out nuclear power , a nuclear fuel tax and
unprofitable gas sales.

Germany shut down eight nuclear power plants after
Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster and decided to phase out
nuclear power completely by 2022, overturning legislation that
had originally extended the lifespan of 17 nuclear power
plants.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Post DHL (DPWGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) nudged up its 2011 outlook as it cut costs and garnered more customers seeking supply chain services.

As the economy improves, manufacturers of machine parts, cars and other goods ramp up production and pay Deutsche Post to transport parts and finished products to and from their factories.

FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) – European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) kept up a hot pace of acquisitions with a $960 million (589.9 million pounds) cash deal to buy satellite communications firm Vizada on Monday, chasing steadier sales from high-value services.

The purchase, from private equity owner Apax France, was flagged by Reuters on Sunday and adds to a string of deals designed to help the Airbus parent firm dispose of surplus cash.