Germany

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany must protect its economic structure during the coronavirus crisis and prevent the sell-off or break-up of key companies, Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht told the Handelsblatt business daily.

“It is imperative that we protect the economic structure of our country during the crisis and prevent the sale or break-up of important companies,” Lambrecht said.

“To this end, the state is prepared to take stakes in companies, even partially or fully, if this should become necessary,” she added.

BERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency said Tuesday that it is putting eight of its spacecraft into hibernation as it scales down operations during the coronavirus outbreak.

The agency said it is further reducing the already limited number of staff working on site at its mission control in Darmstadt, Germany. As a result, the instruments and data collection on some space probes are being temporarily stopped.

BERLIN, March 24. /TASS/: The emergency situation over the novel coronavirus pandemic may go on at least until the yearend, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, Chairperson of the World Medical Association’s (WMA) Council, said on Tuesday.

"This problem will obviously be with us until the end of the year," he said in an interview with DPA agency.

"We will have to rearrange our entire social life and labor activities until a vaccine against the infection is developed," he said, adding that he hailed the German government’s decision to limit social contacts.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said that an aid package worth up to 750 billion euros ($816.38 billion) that the government announced on Monday was just an initial step in tackling the coronavirus crisis.

“The federal government is clear that we view this package of measures as just the first step,” Altmaier told a news conference on Tuesday.

“We know that the time to implementation is critical. We want to makes sure help arrives as quickly as possible,” he added.

BERLIN, Mar 23 (NNN-XINHUA) – Germany bans public outside stay of more than two people, according to the country’s latest measures announced on Sunday, to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Germany’s federal government and states, agreed on Sunday, to further restrict public life and social contacts to contain the virus. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made the announcement, after her teleconferencing with heads of federal states.

BERLIN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put herself in quarantine after a doctor she met Friday tested positive for coronavirus, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Sunday.

Merkel was informed after a press conference that the doctor who gave her a pneumococcal vaccination was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Merkel decided to immediately quarantine herself at home and take tests over the next few days, according to Seibert.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government is readying stimulus measures requiring about 350 billion euros ($374 billion) in net new debt to counter the coronavirus crisis, several people familiar with the plans told Reuters on Saturday.

The package will include a supplementary government budget of about 150 billion euros, 100 billion euros for an economic stability fund that can take direct equity stakes in companies, and 100 billion euros in credit to public-sector development bank KfW for loans to struggling businesses, the sources said.

BERLIN, Mar 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The number of COVID-19 cases in Germany has increased by 2,958 within one day to 13,957, the German federal disease control agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI), announced.

So far, 31 deaths had been recorded by RKI, 11 more than a day before. Other European countries, such as France, Spain and especially Italy, where more than 3,400 people died, reported much higher numbers.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said on Friday that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak may affect the lender’s ability to meet its financial targets as the fragile bank undergoes a major revamp after years of losses.

The warning is the first time that Germany’s largest lender has sounded the alarm on the outbreak, which has upended the bank’s operations by causing it to split teams globally and cancel major events. Deutsche’s shares have fallen to a record low amid a broad market rout.

19 March 2020; AFP: The European Central Bank on Wednesday unexpectedly said it would spend 750 billion euros on "emergency" bond purchases, as it joined other central banks in stepping up efforts to contain the economic damage from the coronavirus.

The so-called Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme comes just six days after the ECB unveiled a big-bank stimulus package that failed to calm nervous markets, piling pressure on the bank to open the financial floodgates.