Germany's federal deficit is set to be much lower than expected, a draft budget suggested on Monday, as Berlin holds up its tough line on spending as the best way for Europe to exit its debt crisis.Helped by an unexpectedly strong economic upturn, the deficit in Europe's top economy will amount to about 65 billion euros (81 billion dollars) this year compared to a previous estimate of 80 billion
Germany plans to cut net new borrowing by some 80 billion euros ($100 billion) over five years, reducing supply of Europe's benchmark debt and adding pressure on other euro zone members to tighten their own public finances.The draft budget for 2011, which the cabinet plans to approve on Wednesday for ratification in parliament in November, will anchor a 34 billion euro reduction in new issuance o
BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel is forecasting that Germany will beatArgentina 2-1 in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.Merkel told RTL television on Friday that she expects a 'difficult game'and hopes Joachim Loew's team will have 'good nerves and speedy legs.' Merkel's decision to attend the match in Cape Town has drawn criticism froma taxpayer lobby group, which argued it sends the
BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel's candidate was elected German president Wednesday in a lackluster victory that took an embarrassing three rounds of voting and dashed hopes of a strong show of support from her governing coalition.Christian Wulff, a 51-year-old deputy leader of Merkel's conservative party, won 625 votes in a special parliamentary assembly compared to 494 for opposition can
What should have been an easy election of a new German president turned into a debacle for Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday as rebels in her coalition broke ranks and spurned her candidate.In dramatic scenes, conservative Christian Wulff fell eight votes short of an absolute majority in a second round of voting in an assembly of MPs and public figures, after missing out by 23 in the first ro
Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a humiliating blow Wednesday after her candidate for German president failed to secure an absolute majority in a second round of voting in a special assembly.Christian Wulff fell eight votes short of an absolute majority in an assembly of MPs and public figures even though Merkel's coalition had a majority on paper.In the first round he was 23 short. Follow Yaho
Germany launched a media blitz on Thursday to defend its disputed austerity plans, the latest salvo in a transatlantic war of words ahead of a key G20 summit to discuss responses to the financial crisis.Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble chose English-language papers for the broadside against US fears that Germany's savings programme could throttle a stuttering globa
The leaders of EU heavyweights Germany and France were keen to patch up fundamental differences on Monday on how the bloc should change in response to a crisis that has shaken it to its core.Three days before a full EU summit, France and Germany are at loggerheads over how to run European economic policy and on the extent of coordination between the 27 members and the 16 countries that use the eu