BERLIN (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Wednesday that Italy’s inconclusive weekend election had raised the risk of market turmoil spreading to other euro countries and urged Italian politicians to form a stable government quickly.

Speaking to Reuters from the finance ministry in Berlin as Italy’s borrowing costs hit their highest level in four months, Schaeuble said it was too early to declare the euro crisis solved.

BERLIN (Reuters) – European Central Bank board member Joerg Asmussen urged France to take “concrete and measurable” steps to bring down its budget deficit, saying Paris faced a test of its credibility and must come as close as possible to its 3 percent goal for this year.

Speaking to Reuters on Friday after the European Commission forecast that France’s deficit would come in at 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013, well short of target, Asmussen said the country had a special responsibility, along with Germany, for fiscal stability in the euro zone.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel’s main challenger in this year’s German election attacked her record in a combative speech on Ash Wednesday, accusing the chancellor of stealing policy ideas and cynically profiting from reforms introduced by his Social Democrats (SPD).

Peer Steinbrueck, a former finance minister whose campaign to unseat the popular Merkel got off to a disastrous start last year, tried to reassure the SPD faithful about their prospects in the September vote, vowing to fight for victory and showing off the sardonic wit and feistiness for which he is known.

BERLIN, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The German labour market remains
strong but it is not translating into a significant increase in
private consumption, data showed on Thursday, raising doubts
about the strength of an rebound in Europe’s largest economy.

Federal Labour Office figures showed seasonally adjusted
unemployment falling unexpectedly by 16,000 in January, breaking
a long run of increases to take the jobless rate down to 6.8
percent, not far from a post-reunification low.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany plans a modest reform of its banking sector that would put a cap on risky activities but not lead to the breakup of banks or significantly impair big institutions like flagship lender Deutsche Bank, according to a draft law seen by Reuters.

The 64-page bill from the finance ministry, which will be up for cabinet approval early next month, comes four months after an EU advisory group led by Finnish central banker Erkki Liikanen unveiled reform proposals to shield taxpayers and savers from bank collapses.

BERLIN, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Germany plans a modest reform of
its banking sector that would put a cap on risky activities but
not lead to the breakup of banks or significantly impair big
institutions like flagship lender Deutsche Bank, according to a
draft law seen by Reuters.

The 64-page bill from the finance ministry, which will be up
for cabinet approval early next month, comes four months after
an EU advisory group led by Finnish central banker Erkki
Liikanen unveiled reform proposals to shield taxpayers and
savers from bank collapses.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany has condemned all comments at odds with the goal of Middle East peace ahead of a visit by Egypt’s president, whose vitriolic remarks against Jews and Zionists in 2010 when he was a Muslim Brotherhood leader have stirred outrage.

The utterances by Mohamed Mursi, who became Egypt’s first freely elected leader in July of last year, were first reported by the New York Times earlier this month. Widely seen as anti-Semitic, the comments were condemned by the United States.

Jan 24 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel waded
into a burgeoning debate about currency wars on Thursday,
singling out Japan as a source of concern following recent moves
by its central bank to quicken the pace of money-printing.

Central bankers in advanced countries, notably Japan and the
United States, have been pursuing aggressive action to reflate
their economies. This has the effect of weakening their
currencies.

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts French President Francois Hollande and his government on Tuesday for a celebration marking half a century of post-war partnership, even as their countries struggle to forge a common vision for crisis-hit Europe.

Fifty years after Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle signed the Elysee Treaty that sealed a reconciliation between the former adversaries, Berlin and Paris are determined to put on a rousing display of unity.

BERLIN, Jan 21 (Reuters) – In an extremely tight German
state election that seemed to produce few clearcut winners,
there was no argument over who the biggest loser was -
Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Her Christian Democrats (CDU), led in Lower Saxony by rising
star David McAllister, had convinced themselves over the past
week that they were on the verge of a stunning come-from-behind
victory in the northwestern state, a major agricultural and
industrial region that is Germany’s closest approximation to a
U.S.-style swing state.