Germany refuses to bail out carmakers

Germany's giant and ailing car industry can expect little relief from the government, according to Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck.

In an interview published Thursday in Die Zeit, Mr Steinbrueck said Berlin would not lend state support to the country’s battered car manufacturers despite the economic turmoil and carmakers’ importance to the national economy.

The government was “not prepared to announce a bailout plan for the auto sector or promise tax breaks just because the industry is applying pressure”, he said.

Car sales in Europe fell 8.2 per cent in September to 1.3m, with sales on the year down 4 per cent to 11.7m, according to figures released Wednesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Many German giants have already felt the hit with Daimler announcing it will cut 3,500 North American jobs and halt production at its largest German facility, Sindelfingen. Opel is shutting down two factories that employ 6,500 and BMW is closing a large plant in Leipzig.

The good news for German carmakers was a government plan to boost exports through aid, said Economy Minister Michael Glos on Wednesday. To counter the recession looming in the United States and Europe, Germany would increase its export credit guarantees that protect businesses by taking over bad foreign debt, he said.

Meanwhile, a fair specialising in luxury goods opened on Thursday in Munich drawing swarms of activists in protest.
There are surgical procedures that can help fix your erectile dysfunction problem rather it is meant to offer you temporarily tadalafil online no prescription relief. Acai get free levitra http://greyandgrey.com/workers-and-compensation/ berry, through its antioxidants and fatty acids, burns the fat of your body in a natural way. Visit mental hospital in Bhopal. buy generic levitra More Discounts If you are not able to order cialis online satisfy your partner well for many hours leading to total satisfaction.
The four-day “Millionaire Fair” which started in 2002 and has taken place in Moscow, Shanghai and Amsterdam includes showrooms of private jets, high-end cars and extravagant items of jewelry. Some 20,000 people are expected to pay the €39 entrance fee.

Protestors have announced they will hold a symbolic slave market next to the event. “Our aim is not to pillory people but to attack existing social conditions [and this] obscene display of perverse wealth,” said Walter Listl of the Social Forum, a network of 40 activist groups.

“According to UN statistics, a child dies every five seconds of malnutrition or from easily treatable diseases. They’re showcasing mobile phones studded with precious gems. We can’t just sit back and ignore that.”

Also on Thursday, the business daily Handelsblatt reported that German officials knew about the financial woes at Hypo Real Estate far sooner than Mr Steinbrueck has said. According to a special investigation launched in February by the financial watchdog group Bafin, the empty holdings of HRE and its Irish subsidiary Depfa were presented to the finance ministry on Aug 7.