MUNICH/BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) – Germany’s IG Metall
engineering union secured a deal on Wednesday for an
inflation-beating wage increase for workers in Bavaria, which
will serve as a basis for a nationwide agreement for 3.7 million
employees.

The deal signals a second year of hefty wage hikes, which
economists say will not fuel inflation unduly but could help
bolster consumption at a time when Europe’s largest economy is
under pressure from its neighbours to do more to stimulate
growth and help drag the region out of recession.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany just skirted a recession in the first quarter thanks to a rise in private consumption, leading some economists to cut full-year growth forecasts and underscoring how Europe’s largest economy cannot be relied on to drive a regional recovery.

Seasonally-adjusted preliminary data released on Wednesday by the Statistics Office showed the German economy growing by 0.1 percent, significantly less than a median forecast in a Reuters poll of 35 economists for expansion of 0.3 percent.

BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) – Germany just skirted a recession
in the first quarter thanks to a rise in private consumption,
leading some economists to cut full-year growth forecasts and
underscoring how Europe’s largest economy cannot be relied on to
drive a regional recovery.

Seasonally-adjusted preliminary data released on Wednesday
by the Statistics Office showed the German economy growing by
0.1 percent, significantly less than a median forecast in a
Reuters poll of 35 economists for expansion of 0.3 percent.

BERLIN/PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) – Germany’s economy crept
back into growth in the first quarter of the year, after a sharp
contraction at the end of 2012, while France slipped into
recession, data showed on Wednesday.

Germany grew by just 0.1 percent on the quarter, weaker than
expected as a harsh winter prevented a stronger rebound.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s newly launched anti-euro party will clear a key hurdle this weekend to taking part in September’s national election but has yet to rally enough support to win seats in parliament.

“Alternative for Germany” (AfD), which wants the country to quit the euro and reintroduce the deutsche mark, said it would found its 16th and final regional association on Sunday – a requirement to be able to contest national votes.

BERLIN, May 7 (Reuters) – Berlin’s state ballet has teamed
up with a leading techno night club to produce a dark,
avant-garde show with bondage masks and a bus wreck set in a
former power plant that showcases the city’s vibrant alternative
cultural scene.

“Masse” (mass) features three performances by choreographers
scored by DJs who regularly play at the Berghain in a wasteland
in the city’s ex-communist east which grew out of a gay, fetish
joint and is known for its booming sound and hedonistic parties.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s BGA trade association on Monday slashed its forecasts for exports and imports in 2013 and said trade would not contribute to growth in Europe’s largest economy this year due to a slower-than-expected global pickup.

BGA President Anton Boerner also said the euro zone debt crisis was weighing heavily on demand for German goods, with recession in southern Europe likely to worsen in the short-term, and expressed particular concern about Italy’s prospects.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Qatar is racing to develop efficient solar-powered cooling technology to counter the searing heat of the Middle Eastern summer in its stadiums during the 2022 soccer World Cup, a senior organising committee official told Reuters.

Nasser Al-Khater, the organising committee’s communications and marketing director, also said the tiny gulf state would construct its stadiums with modular technology so it could downscale them after the tournament, and donate seating to countries with little sports infrastructure.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Qatar is racing to develop efficient solar-powered cooling technology to counter the searing heat of the Middle Eastern summer in its stadiums during the 2022 football World Cup, a senior organising committee official told Reuters.

Nasser Al-Khater, the organising committee’s communications and marketing director, also said the tiny gulf state would construct its stadiums with modular technology so it could downscale them after the tournament, and donate seating to countries with little sports infrastructure.

BERLIN, April 18 (Reuters) – Qatar is racing to develop efficient solar-powered cooling technology to counter the searing heat of the Middle Eastern summer in its stadiums during the 2022 soccer World Cup, a senior organising committee official told Reuters.

Nasser Al-Khater, the organising committee’s communications and marketing director, also said the tiny gulf state would construct its stadiums with modular technology so it could downscale them after the tournament, and donate seating to countries with little sports infrastructure.