BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Germany is the champion of exporters, but it may not be getting as much of a boost from a newly weaker euro as advertised — indeed, there is evidence that the bigger beneficiaries could be the troubled economies on the euro zone periphery.

Thomson Reuters data shows that German exports do not receive the boost of demand that do products from places such as Italy and Spain when the single currency is weaker.

It all comes down to what you are making – higher-end German products that cannot readily be substituted or more price-elastic lower value goods from the periphery nations.

Think precision tools versus olive oil.

The euro has fallen by 12 percent against the dollar in eight months since May 2011. Even with a modest recovery in recent weeks, it is still 7 percent lower than it was three months ago.

The broader trade-weighted exchange rate is down 4 percent in the past three months, according to ECB data.

So trade-driven Germany, which sells nearly 30 percent of the goods the European Union exports, would be the obvious winner.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Germany is the champion of exporters, but it may not be getting as much of a boost from a newly weaker euro as advertised — indeed, there is evidence that the bigger beneficiaries could be the troubled economies on the euro zone periphery.

Thomson Reuters data shows that German exports do not receive the boost of demand that do products from places such as Italy and Spain when the single currency is weaker.

It all comes down to what you are making – higher-end German products that cannot readily be substituted or more price-elastic lower value goods from the periphery nations.

Think precision tools versus olive oil.

The euro has fallen by 12 percent against the dollar in eight months since May 2011. Even with a modest recovery in recent weeks, it is still 7 percent lower than it was three months ago.

The broader trade-weighted exchange rate is down 4 percent in the past three months, according to ECB data.

So trade-driven Germany, which sells nearly 30 percent of the goods the European Union exports, would be the obvious winner.

BRUSSELS, Jan 24 (Reuters) – The appointment of Jacques Santer to head an arm of the euro zone’s bailout fund drew fire from critics on Tuesday who said he was ill-suited for the job because of his disastrous tenure as president of the European Commission.

Supporters rallied around, however, saying Santer was a capable and solid servant of the European Union.

A former prime minister of Luxembourg, Santer was president of the EU’s 20-person executive in 1999 when it was forced to resign en masse over allegations of corruption.

Detractors said Santer, who was not accused of wrongdoing, presided over a Commission lacking in control over where taxpayers’ money was going. It was arguably the biggest scandal to befall the EU since its founding.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the current prime minister of Luxembourg and chairman of the group of euro zone finance ministers, dismissed criticism on Monday, when the head of the bailout fund announced Santer’s appointment.

The 74-year-old will head a special purpose investment vehicle designed to raise funds to defend the euro zone economy.

“He served both Europe and his country in the best way possible,” Juncker responded when asked if Santer was the most suitable candidate for the job.

BRUSSELS, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Belgian banking and insurance group KBC has agreed to sell its Polish insurance unit Warta to Germany’s third-largest insurance company Talanx for 770 million euros ($993 million), part of a series of divestments required by EU regulators.

KBC shares hit a two-month high after the announcement, rising as much as 10.1 percent.

KBC, which received 7 billion euros in state aid during the 2008-09 financial crisis, said on Friday that the deal would boost its tier 1 capital ratio by slightly less than 0.7 percentage point and its profit by 0.3 billion euros.

Talanx, which is planning a stock market listing and which owns a 50.2 percent stake the world’s third-biggest reinsurer, Hannover Re, will take control of Poland’s second-largest insurer with 1.5 million customers and 2,765 staff

The deal, set to be completed in the second half of 2012, should be among the last KBC carries out under a plan agreed with the European Commission in return for receiving state aid.

The Belgian group still has to sell its Polish banking subsidiary Kredyt Bank, along with its relatively small German business, its diamond bank unit in Antwerp and its operations in Serbia and Russia.

It has already divested its private banking arm to Qatar-backed Precision Group, its British brokerage Peel Hunt, its Asian derivatives operations as well as Belgian insurance and bank units Fidea and Centea.

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Belgian workers in public transport, schools, hospitals and government buildings went on strike on Thursday in protest at pension reforms in the new government’s austerity plan to reduce the budget deficit.

The Belgian rail system stopped operating from late on Wednesday evening and other public services including buses, trams and the metro, as well as postal deliveries were shut down in the 24-hour strike.

High-speed international train services were already hit on Wednesday.

Eurostar, which operates between Brussels, Paris and London, said it would not be able to operate its services to Belgium for the duration of the strike. It would offer a limited service to the French city of Lille, near the Belgian border. Passengers would then have to use a bus service to reach Brussels.

Thalys, which operates trains from Paris through Brussels to the Netherlands and Germany, said no trains would be running on Thursday.

The international airport serving Brussels said it did not expect any disruptions to air traffic, but advised travellers to check flight details regularly.

Many officials from European Union institutions headquartered in Brussels rescheduled travel earlier in the week to avoid the labour disruptions ahead of the Christmas break.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The downgrade of Belgium’s credit rating by agency Moody’s underlines the need to cut the budget deficit next year to 2.8 percent of GDP as agreed by the ruling coalition, Belgian Finance Minister Steven Vanackere said on Saturday.

While the deficit target and measures to reach it have been agreed by Belgium’s six-party ruling coalition, economists expect more austerity steps may be necessary given a weakening economic outlook for the country and the euro zone as a whole.

Vanackere told Reuters in an interview that if periodic checks during 2012 showed Belgium was off course to achieve the target, new measures would be implemented.

“The 2.8 percent will be achieved. If growth estimates are downgraded in March, that will of course imply new measures to guarantee the result of 2.8 percent,” he said.

“2012 will be a year in which we will have several budget controls. We will be very active on that level and we will achieve the 2.8 percent,” he said.

Moody’s cut Belgium’s rating by two notches late on Friday to Aa3 from Aa1, citing deteriorating financing conditions in the euro zone, risks to economic growth and the costs of bailouts of banks such as Dexia.

“No finance minister is glad when there is a downgrade of a country, but at the same time it is not a big surprise,” Vanackere said.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The downgrade of Belgium’s credit rating by agency Moody’s underlines the need to cut the budget deficit next year to 2.8 percent of GDP as agreed by the ruling coalition, Belgian Finance Minister Steven Vanackere said on Saturday.

While the deficit target and measures to reach it have been agreed by Belgium’s six-party ruling coalition, economists expect more austerity steps may be necessary given a weakening economic outlook for the country and the euro zone as a whole.

Vanackere told Reuters in an interview that if periodic checks during 2012 showed Belgium was off course to achieve the target, new measures would be implemented.

“The 2.8 percent will be achieved. If growth estimates are downgraded in March, that will of course imply new measures to guarantee the result of 2.8 percent,” he said.

“2012 will be a year in which we will have several budget controls. We will be very active on that level and we will achieve the 2.8 percent,” he said.

Moody’s cut Belgium’s rating by two notches late on Friday to Aa3 from Aa1, citing deteriorating financing conditions in the euro zone, risks to economic growth and the costs of bailouts of banks such as Dexia (DEXI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

“No finance minister is glad when there is a downgrade of a country, but at the same time it is not a big surprise,” Vanackere said.

BRUSSELS, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Belgium finally secured a government on Monday after record-long talks to form a coalition that promises the most profound state reform in decades and a commitment to restore the country’s finances.

The new six-party coalition has a mammoth 180-page deal to enact having already lost a year and a half of a four-year term.

The government must satisfy demands of the Dutch-speaking Flemish majority for devolution of further powers to Belgium’s regions, and may have to redraw a budget that economists say is based on too optimistic a growth forecast.

That will be no easy matter. Budget talks themselves dragged on for six weeks and only concluded at the end of an 18-hour session after Standard & Poor’s had cut Belgium’s credit rating to AA from AA+.

The new government will be headed by French-speaking Socialist leader Elio Di Rupo. It retained many of the ministers from the caretaker government of acting prime minister Yves Leterme, albeit in different roles.

Flemish Christian Democrat Steven Vanackere becomes finance minister and francophone Liberal Didier Reynders foreign minister, a straight job switch. The cabinet will be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon, the palace said.

Di Rupo will be the first native French-speaking prime minister of Belgium since 1979 and the first from the region of Wallonia since 1974, as well as the first son of immigrants and the first openly gay person to be premier of the country.

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland has sold its 918 tenanted pubs in Britain to Dutch brewer Heineken for 422 million pounds, another step in its exit from non-core businesses following a government bailout.

Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewer and which will become one of Britain’s leading operators of tenanted pubs with 1,380 premises, will have a wider channel to sell lagers such as Foster’s and Heineken itself, Europe’s top-selling beer.

Tenanted pubs — run by lessees who pay rent and are ‘tied’ to their landlord when buying beer — have fared less well during the downturn than outlets managed on behalf of pub companies, which have greater freedom on pricing.

The two biggest tenanted pub companies — Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns — have seen profits decimated and been forced to sell underperforming pubs.

Heineken said on Friday the sites it was buying were of high quality and had outperformed the market, adding the deal should add to earnings immediately.

It already owned the Globe chain of 462 tenanted pubs — – following its 2008 takeover with Danish peer Carlsberg of Scottish & Newcastle. The Globe pubs were now profitable and also outperforming the market, Heineken said.

Citigroup said while the price Heineken was paying appeared “respectable” it queried the strategy behind the deal.

LONDON/BRUSSELS, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland has sold its 918 tenanted pubs in Britain to Dutch brewer Heineken for 422 million pounds ($662 million), another step in its exit from non-core businesses following a government bailout.

Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewer and which will become one of Britain’s leading operators of tenanted pubs with 1,380 premises, will have a wider channel to sell lagers such as Foster’s and Heineken itself, Europe’s top-selling beer.

Tenanted pubs — run by lessees who pay rent and are ‘tied’ to their landlord when buying beer — have fared less well during the downturn than outlets managed on behalf of pub companies, which have greater freedom on pricing.

The two biggest tenanted pub companies — Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns — have seen profits decimated and been forced to sell underperforming pubs.

Heineken said on Friday the sites it was buying were of high quality and had outperformed the market, adding the deal should add to earnings immediately.

It already owned the Globe chain of 462 tenanted pubs — – following its 2008 takeover with Danish peer Carlsberg of Scottish & Newcastle. The Globe pubs were now profitable and also outperforming the market, Heineken said.

Citigroup said while the price Heineken was paying appeared “respectable” it queried the strategy behind the deal.