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Steinbrueck's `Bad Banks' Bill Clears Parliament Months After Crisis Hit German lawmakers backed Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck’s plan to purge state and private banks of toxic assets, more than nine months after the global financial crisis brought the banking system to its knees.

GM Says Beijing Auto Submits Non-Binding Opel Bid as Magna Talks On Track General Motors Corp. said Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. submitted an offer for its Opel division, giving the bankrupt U.S. automaker more options in the event negotiations with Magna International Inc. fail.

DAX Index Caps Longest Stretch of Weekly Losses Since March; Metro Falls German stocks declined, with the benchmark DAX Index capping its longest stretch of weekly losses since March, as economic reports added to signs the recession in Europe will persist.

Volkswagen Sales Rose 6% in June, Second Monthly Gain, CEO Winterkorn Says Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest carmaker, delivered more cars for a second consecutive month in June as government incentives spurred purchases, Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said.

ThyssenKrupp Said to Abandon Sale of Unit After Potential Buyers Pull Out ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker, scrapped the sale of an industrial services unit as part of a 1 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) disposal of assets after buyers pulled out, people familiar with the situation said.

Fuchs Petrolub Chief, Armed With $350 Million War Chest, Seeks Takeovers Fuchs Petrolub AG, Germany’s largest maker of lubricants, is prepared to acquire competitors in a market hurt by a collapsing demand from industries like automotive and mining.

State Banks Urge Merkel to `Quickly' Push EU for Easing of Basel II Rules German state banks urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to press the European Union to ease rules on capital reserves, which they say are slowing lenders’ return to health and choking credit to industry.

Escada Optimistic of Financial Rescue as Katie Holmes Dressmaker Suffers Escada AG Chief Executive Officer Bruno Saelzer said he’s optimistic investors will back a refinancing plan and avert insolvency at the German dressmaker whose celebrity clients include actress Katie Holmes.

General News

Wiedeking Era at Porsche Runs on Fumes as Volkswagen Takeover Backfires Wendelin Wiedeking, hailed as “the man who outfoxed the market” by Fortune magazine in January, is fighting to save Porsche SE -- and his job -- as a strategy to take over Volkswagen AG unravels.

Demjanjuk, Suspected Nazi Guard, Is Fit for Trial, Munich Prosecutors Say Munich prosecutors said suspected Nazi death-camp guard John Demjanjuk is fit for trial so long as his time in court is limited, and that they expect to charge him this month.

Merkel's CDU/CSU Bloc Dips Even as Her Popularity Gains Before Election German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc lost support in an opinion poll even as her personal popularity gained, highlighting a dilemma as she prepares to fight Sept. 27 national elections.

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