Eurozone unemployment has reached its highest level since the introduction of the European single currency 14 years ago. Bucking the trend is Germany.

The Schleckers, once one of Germany's wealthiest families, have lost their fortune, leaving them unable to pump fresh funds into the bankrupt Schlecker drugstore chain.

German native Thorsten Heins was named to lead BlackBerry maker RIM. The Canadian firm hopes to regain lost ground, particularly in the U.S.

The Securities and Exchange Commission formally approved the $10 billion acquisition by Germany's Deutsche Börse of NYSE Euronext. The SEC said it reviewed the proposal carefully and found the merger would comply with securities laws and promote fair trading. European Union officials have been closely examining whether the deal quashes competition, and they've shown few signs they'll allow it to proceed. NYSE Euronext owns the New York Stock Exchange and exchanges in Paris, Lisbon, Brussels and Amsterdam.

BASF AG, the maker of the Amflora scientific potato, is moving the plant-science unit that genetically modifies crops to the U.S. from Germany.

The European Union in planning new rules which would limit the use of the label “Made in Germany.” This could cause “immense damage”, Germany’s industry lobby group warned.

A top German business leader said if problem countries fail to carry out reforms, Germany must not defend the euro currency at all cost.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed faster eurozone reform after the US rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded France, Austria and seven other eurozone members.

German brewers are replacing standard beer bottles with fancy ones in a drive to catch consumers’ eyes and boost flagging sales, a financial newspaper reported on Friday.

European regulators will push to block the planned $10 billion merger of the New York Stock Exchange and its German counterpart, according to press reports Tuesday.

When a country isues bonds at no interest as Germany did Monday for the first time in history, both buyers and sellsrs stand to benefit. 

Volkswagen (VW) sold 8.156 million vehicles worldwide in 2011, breaching the 8-million mark for the first time in the company's history.

More than 13 billion Deutsche Marks in cash remain unaccounted for on the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the euro, according to a newspaper report.

Germany will ease its visa controls next year, in a move expected to help thousands of people and companies from Russia and China seeking to do business in the European Union’s biggest economy.

Deutsche Telekom may be forced into a tie-up of its U.S. wireless unit with Sprint Nextel after a $39 billion deal with AT&T collapsed.

T-Mobile USA and AT&T are back at square one after US antitrust concerns brought down a proposed takeover  of the German firm by AT&T.

Etihad Airways has said it will increase its stake in Air Berlin from 3% to more than 29%. Most of the increased holding will come in the form of newly-issued shares.

Swedish carmaker Saab has filed for bankruptcy after a potential Chinese investor pulled out. The former GM unit had been struggling to pay its bills months.

Austria is in talks to sell 40 second-hand Leopard 2A4 tanks back to their German manufacturer after Vienna balked at the Canadian military buying them, a press report said.

The dog tax has long been a source of revenue in Germany and other European countries. Beginning January 1, owning a dog in Vienna will become 65 percent more expensive.

European leaders opened a massive pipeline carrying Russian gas under the Baltic Sea. Photo: Presidents Medvedev of Russia (left) and Christian Wulff of Germany.

General Motors Co said the head of its Opel unit in Germany will take over all European operations on Jan. 1, the latest move by the auto maker to speed a turnaround in a long-troubled region.

Investor confidence in October fell to its lowest level in nearly 3 years, adding to signs that the debt crisis is reaching Europe's biggest economy. Photo: Hamburg's Containerport.

Volkswagen plans to extend its worldwide workforce to 500,000 by 2018, CEO Winterkorn said. This would make VW the world's biggest car manufacturer.

Starbucks is planning a major expansion in Germany. CEO Howard Schultz told the newspaper, Handelsblatt, that the number of coffee shops will be "doubled or tripled" in coming years.

In a desperate move to halt the apprecation of the Swiss currency, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) Tuesday set a minimum exchange rate target of SFr1.20 to the euro.