Germany – Page 124 – Infinite Unknown

Allianz Posts 2 Billion Euro Loss, May Miss Forecast

November 7, 2008 by Infinite

Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) — Allianz SE, Europe’s second-biggest insurer by market-value, posted a 2 billion-euro ($2.6 billion) loss and said it may miss operating profit forecasts for this year and next because of the turmoil in financial markets.

Allianz had a net loss including discontinued operations in the third quarter, compared with net income of 1.9 billion euros a year earlier, the Munich-based insurer said in a statement today. That was less than the 3.85 billion-euro estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Net income from continuing operations, which reflects the sale of Dresdner, was 545 million euros, the company said, missing analysts’ estimates of 782 million euros.

“Without a major equity market recovery, the operating profit outlook of 9 billion euros before banking for this year and next year cannot be reached,” Allianz Chief Financial Officer Helmut Perlet said in the statement.

Allianz, led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Diekmann, agreed on Aug. 31 to sell Dresdner Bank to Frankfurt-based Commerzbank AG for cash and stock. Commerzbank shares lost about 40 percent of their value in the month ended Sept. 30. Discontinued operations, which reflect the sale of Dresdner effective from Sept. 1, accounted for “transaction-based impairments according to IFRS 5” of 1.4 billion euros as well as for a net loss of 1.2 billion euros from Dresdner’s operations, Allianz said.

IMF urges radical action to fight global recession

November 7, 2008 by Infinite

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its forecast for the world economy next year, predicting outright contraction for the rich economies of North America, Europe, and Japan for the first time since the Second World War.

Taxi driving through Tokyo at night. Photo: GETTY

“Prospects for global growth have deteriorated over the past month. The financial crisis remains virulent. Markets have entered a vicious cycle of asset deleveraging,” said the fund yesterday.

Britain’s economy will suffer and will see the steepest decline in G7 club of leading powers, shrinking 1.3pc as the crunch in the City of London leads to more job losses. Germany will decline by 0.8pc, The US and Spain by 0.7pc.

Sending shivers through stockmarkets everwhere, the Fund cut its world outlook next year to just 2.2pc, down from 3pc just a month ago. This is a global recession under the IMF’s 3pc rule-of-thumb.

“Financial stress is likely to be deeper and more protracted than envisaged in October. Markets are pricing in expectations of much higher corporate default rates, as well as higher losses on securities and loans,” it said.

“Activity is increasingly being held back by slumping confidence. As the financial crisis has become more entrenched, households and firms are increasingly anticipating a prolonged period of poor prospects for jobs and profits. As a result, they are cutting back.”

Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s chief economist, called on authorities around the world to respond rapidly with combined monetary and fiscal stimulus, saying risk on an inflationary surge had subsided as commodities prices slump.

Commerzbank accepts €8.2bn state funding

November 3, 2008 by Infinite

Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest bank, today said it would accept a €8.2bn (£6.44bn) capital injection from the state and a further €15bn in guaranteed funding.

Commerz, which is taking over Dresdner, its smaller rival, said it had agreed to pay no dividends for the next two years. It will also scrap all boardroom bonuses in 2009 and 2010 and cap its chief executive’s salary at €500,000.

The bank made its moves as it reported a net loss of €285m in the third quarter when it was heavily exposed to both Lehman Brothers, the bankrupt US investment bank, and Iceland, the virtually insolvent country.

It said it made a combined operating loss of almost €900m through these two events. In the first nine months its pre-tax earnings of €2.3bn a year ago shrank to €419m.

Germany’s private sector banks have been under considerable pressure from chancellor Angela Merkel to join her government’s €500bn stabilisation package, with the biggest, Deutsche, creating a storm by saying it would be “ashamed” to take part.

Volkswagen May Face DAX Ouster as Deutsche Boerse Changes Rules

October 31, 2008 by Infinite

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) — Volkswagen AG’s common shares may face removal from Germany’s DAX Index as early as next week after the benchmark’s compiler changed inclusion rules to stem disruptions spurred by gyrations in the automaker’s stock.

Deutsche Boerse AG, operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange, said in a statement today that from Nov. 3 it may at any time remove a DAX stock whose weighting exceeds 10 percent and whose share price over the preceding 30 trading days had annualized volatility of more than 250 percent.

“The exchange wants to guard that indexes are reliable and not exposed to these unusual swings,” said Carlos Sanchez, a sales trader at Interdin Bolsa SVB SA in Madrid. “It would seem like Volkswagen common shares are on the way out.”

Volkswagen’s weighting will be cut to 10 percent at the end of trading today and may increase next week if the shares outperform the benchmark. The stock’s volatility has climbed to about 395 percent in the past 30 days, Bloomberg data show.

Volkswagen shares halve as funds lose billions

October 29, 2008 by Infinite

Volkswagen (VW) shares continued their rollercoaster ride today when they nearly halved in value after the German authorities took action to prevent the volatility in the carmaker’s stock from destabilising the German market.

VW briefly became the world’s most valuable company yesterday, worth £238 billion, following panic share buying by hedge fund chiefs.

The hedge funds were trying to cover potential losses after placing huge bets that Volkswagen shares would fall.

But Porsche, the sports car giant, had been secretly building a 74 per cent stake in its rival, the world’s third-largest carmaker. Porsche said this morning that it would take steps to smooth VW’s soaring share price by settling hedging transactions, equivalent to 5 per cent of the company’s stock, but the move has come too late for some of the world’s most aggressive hedge funds, which are facing losses that could amount to between €20 billion (£15.9 billion) and €30 billion.

Today the shares fell €416.9 to €528.09 in morning trade.

Hedge fund experts believe the losses could even bring down some smaller funds, which have been caught out by the sudden price move.

Two days of frantic trading have led to what is thought to be one of the heaviest losses on a single company’s shares taken by hedge funds.

“This is without question the biggest single loss on a single stock in the history of hedge funds. It’s a bloodbath,” Laurie Pinto, a broker at North Square Capital, said.

Other shareholders in VW rounded on Porsche, saying that it had manipulated VW shares in an irresponsible manner. Porsche vehemently rejected the accusation of share-price manipulation.

Volkswagen shares soar again, up 93 percent

October 28, 2008 by Infinite

FRANKFURT, Germany

Shares of Volkswagen AG jumped an eye-popping 93 percent on Tuesday after a similar surge the day before. Speculation on the reason centered on hedge funds needing to unwind bad bets on the share’s direction.

The immediate rise in VW share value — at one point, its market capitalization made it more valuable than Exxon Corp. — prompted German regulators to declare they were looking into the reasons for the explosive growth.

The surge came amid reports that hedge funds had been forced to buy scarce shares at high prices after mistakenly betting the shares would fall.

But with Porsche now holding nearly 43 percent of the company, and options to reach 75 percent by next year, that left a shortage of shares. If investors had shorted the stock by selling borrowed shares, they would need to buy shares in order to complete the deal.

On Sunday, Porsche Automobile Holding SE, which owns the company that makes the 911, Cayenne and upcoming Panamera sedan, said it increased its stake in VW to nearly 43 percent plus options, with an eye toward 50 percent by the end of 2008.

That started pushing VW shares into the stratosphere. On Monday, they were up nearly 147 percent to close at 520 euros ($651.35) compared with Friday’s closing price of 210.85 euros ($264.41).

On Tuesday, Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen’s shares spiked as high as 1,005 euros ($1,256) in Frankfurt trading Tuesday, nearly doubling Monday’s close. At that level, Volkswagen was worth some 296 billion euros ($370.8 billion), greater than Exxon’s market cap of $343 billion.

They later settled back to close at 945 euros ($1,183.70) — a gain of 81.7 percent. Some 12.3 million shares traded hands Tuesday.

Daimler to halt output at 2 key plants 4 weeks

October 27, 2008 by Infinite

*Daimler halts output at two plants four weeks-works council *Daimler shares fall more than 10 percent

(Rewrites with works council and plant spokeswomen)

FRANKFURT, Oct 27 (Reuters) – German carmaker Daimler (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will stop year-end production at two big German plants for four weeks, doubling the normal holiday stoppages given a sharp drop in demand, its works council said on Monday.

The Sindelfingen plant near Stuttgart that makes Mercedes-Benz C-, E- and S-Class models will shut down from Dec. 12 and reopen on Jan. 12, a works council spokeswoman said.

The Untertuerkheim motor and transmission plant will also halt most output from Dec. 15 to Jan. 12, a plant spokeswoman said.

Mercedes-Benz was not immediately available for comment.

On Sunday, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said the carmaker had imposed a five-week Christmas break for its 36,000 workers at Sindelfingen. Workers normally get only two to three weeks off during the holiday season.

Top world military leaders meet in Lake Placid

October 24, 2008 by Infinite

U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and top military commanders from four nations – Britain, France, Germany and Italy – flew into the Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Clear this weekend aboard the jumbo jet that is used as Air Force 2 when the vice president is aboard. The group of powerful military leaders met in Lake Placid to discuss mutual security issues, including Afghanistan. Photo: Larry Miller

Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and military leaders from several countries discuss Afghanistan and other issues.

LAKE PLACID – Some of the most powerful military commanders in the world met in Lake Placid over the weekend.

Speculation was rife after a C-32, the military equivalent to a Boeing 757 airliner, touched down Friday at the Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Clear.

The 155-foot-long jumbo jet, which is used as Air Force 2 when the vice president is aboard, was emblazoned with “United States of America” on the side and parked on the eastern edge of the airport.

“I was contacted by the Department of Defense approximately a month ago, and they indicated they had some foreign dignitaries that they wanted to bring in through the airport,” said Ross Dubarry, the airport’s manager.

Following the landing, a motorcade led by State Police rushed Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and top military commanders from four nations – Britain, France, Germany and Italy – to a resort in Lake Placid.

German banks lent most to Iceland borrowers: BIS

October 23, 2008 by Infinite

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German banks lent the most to Icelandic borrowers and were owed $21 billion before the recent financial storm swept markets, according to figures released by the Bank for International Settlements.

The research shows that German banks, as well as handing out almost one third of loans in the Nordic outpost, are the most exposed to some of Europe’s fragile economies, such as Spain and Ireland.

In a snapshot taken at the end of June, Germany’s banks lent far more in crisis-stricken Iceland than had rivals in Britain, who were owed just $4 billion, or Iceland’s neighbor Sweden with less than $400 million.

Despite being Europe’s biggest economy, Germany’s levels of lending to countries such as Iceland are disproportionately high.

And in the week that Berlin launched a rescue plan for its banks, the first signs were emerging that lending at the height of the Icelandic bubble had come back to haunt Germany.

BayernLB, a state-backed regional lender that was the first to seek government help this week, said it expected to write off 800 million euros ($1.03 billion) of its 1.5 billion euro exposure to the tiny island state.

Volkswagen: Shares drop sharply; To cut up to 25,000 temp jobs -paper

October 23, 2008 by Infinite

(For your information only. This is not an investment advice.)

I have been been closely watching Volkswagen shares in the last two weeks.

On Oct. 16 the premium for Volkswagen put options was skyrocketing.

In the past five trading days the VW stock has lost over 42%.

Today’s closing price was € 229,00.

Analyst expectations:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.: Volkswagen new target price € 90 (Before € 206)
17.10.2008; Source: News (c) finanzen.net.

UBS: Volkswagen sell; Volkswagen new target price € 130
20.10.2008; Source: News (c) finanzen.net.

Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. KGaA: New Fair value € 90 (Before € 125)
22.10.2008; Source: News (c) finanzen.net.

__________________________________________________________________________

Volkswagen to cut up to 25,000 temp jobs -paper

FRANKFURT, Oct 23 (Reuters) – Volkswagen plans to cut a majority or all of its 25,000 temporary staff as a response to rapidly deteriorating conditions in the market, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Thursday.

“We cannot avoid hard cuts,” Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn was quoted by the paper as saying in front of 500 managers in the company’s hometown of Wolfsburg.

A spokesman for Volkswagen said no decision had yet been taken.

“Both statements are wrong,” he said, referring to the paper’s report that a majority or all 25,000 would go, without commenting further.

Financial crisis: demand for gold soars as price tumbles

October 23, 2008 by Infinite

Investors have rushed to buy gold bars and bought exchange traded funds, worth US$2.8 billion – the biggest inflow on record.

Gold bars - Gold offers safety as the financial crisis rages
Good as gold: investor demand for gold remains high Photo: EDDIE MULHOLLAND

The onset of a global recession and falling stock markets have triggered a stampede for gold – the traditional safe haven during times of uncertainty.

According to the World Gold Council, exchange traded funds are the main beneficiary of the flight to safety. ETFs experienced their strongest quarterly inflow during the third quarter since SPDR®Gold Shares – the first gold ETFs – were launched in November 2004.

But the Council added that bullion dealers around the world reported an unprecedented surge in demand for coins and small bars. It said that there had been reports outright shortages of gold and high premiums over the gold spot price. The US Mint temporarily suspended sales of American Buffalo gold 1 ounce coins after its stocks were depleted, while UK, German and Austrian coin dealers have also reported an enormous increase in demand during the third quarter, it added.

The average gold price edged down slightly between June and September, to $870.88/oz, from $896.11/oz in the previous three months. Gold traded as high as $986/oz on July 15, the day after the US Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank announced plans for a joint bail-out of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but fell sharply later in the quarter to a low of $740.75/oz on September 11. This proved short lived, however. By the end of the quarter, the gold price had rebounded to $884.50/oz.

Yesterday, gold was trading at $729.20 an ounce after hitting intraday low of $718.20 — its lowest level since September 2007.

Volkswagen Falls Most Since 1989 on Short-Selling

October 20, 2008 by Infinite

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) — Volkswagen AG fell the most in almost two decades, counter to a rising German market, as investors short-sold the shares on speculation that the price will decline once Porsche SE gains control of Europe’s biggest carmaker.

Volkswagen’s common shares fell 80.91 euros, or 23 percent, to 277.09 euros, the biggest decline since at least January 1989. The preferred shares lost 3.85 euros, or 5 percent, to 73.10 euros. Short-sellers borrow stock on expectations they can repurchase the shares later at a lower price.

“VW is completely caught in a short-selling frenzy,” said Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Bankhaus Metzler who recommends selling the stock. “The share price has been detached from reality for at least six months. These erratic moves lack any fundamental explanation.”

Common shares in Volkswagen have surged 78 percent this year, helped by a 27 percent increase on Sept. 18 when investors bought stock to stem losses on their short-selling strategy. The Sept. 15 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which lent Volkswagen shares to short-sellers, helped trigger the so-called short-squeeze by forcing the original owners of the stock to buy new shares, people familiar with securities lending said earlier this month.

About 15 percent of Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen’s common shares as of last month were lent, mostly for short-sales, according to London-based research firm Data Explorers. That was the highest proportion of any company on Germany’s 30-member benchmark DAX Index.

Worst slump since Great Depression

October 20, 2008 by Infinite

Major industrialised economies will suffer the worst slump since the 1930s, according to new research from Deutsche Bank.

Worst slump since Great Depression: Bud Fields and his family in their home during the Great Depression in Alabama, 1935. Photo: Corbis

The warning underlines the fact that policymakers have failed to prevent the financial crisis from turning into a full-blown economic slump. It comes as world leaders agreed to hold a summit in New York billed as the “Bretton Woods meeting for the 21st century”.

In its major assessment of the global economy’s health, Deutsche Bank also warned that Britain is even more vulnerable than the US or the euro area, as it predicted that the powerhouses of India and China would fail to support the wider global economy through the downturn.

The banks’ economists Thomas Mayer and Peter Hooper said: “We now expect a major recession for the world economy over the year ahead, with growth in the industrial countries falling to its lowest level since the Great Depression and global growth falling to 1.2pc, its lowest level since the severe downturn of the early 1980s.”

According to the International Monetary Fund, global growth of anything less than 3pc constitutes a world recession. The warning was echoed by Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley, who said: “A global recession is now under way, and risks are still pointed to the downside for commodity prices and earnings.”

The International Interphone Study Confirms: The Use Of Mobile Phone Is Carcinogenic

October 19, 2008 by Infinite

The official publication of the first intermediate results of the International Interphone Study from the International Research Centre on Cancer (CIRC) dependent on WHO confirms the increased tumors and cancer cases due to the use of mobile phone.

The Use Of Mobile Phone Is Carcinogenic: Here (PDF)

INTERPHONE Results latest update Oct. 08, 2008: Interphone Results Update (PDF)

CNN’s Glenn Beck and Peter Schiff: Inflation Nation and Martial Law

October 15, 2008 by Infinite

Added: Oct. 13, 2008

Source: YouTube

Europe stuns with €1.5 trillion bank rescue, as France plays role of saviour

October 14, 2008 by Infinite

Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Holland and Austria have joined forces to launch the greatest bank bail-out in history, offering over €1.5 trillion in guarantees and fresh capital in a “shock and awe” blitz to halt the credit panic.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Photo: PHILIPPE WOJAZER

The move – unveiled simultaneously in the six states to maximise the show of unity – throws the full weight of the eurozone behind global efforts to stem the crisis.

The move gave a tremendous boost to bourses across Europe, lifting the Euro Stoxx index by 9.53pc in the biggest one-day rally ever.

The pan-European plan – totalling over $2 trillion, or £1.17 trillion – completes the third leg of a dramatic restructuring of finance across the Western world. Sovereign states have now absorbed the brunt of the credit risk in half the global economy.

Europe to US: You messed up the rescue, too

October 13, 2008 by Infinite

The plans for a massive bank bailout by European governments differ strikingly from the U.S. approach.

PARIS (Fortune) — First you mess up the world’s financial system. Then you blow the rescue of it. Now let’s show you how to do it properly.

That, in a nutshell, is the less-than-flattering message European governments are sending to the U.S. as they mount their own gigantic bank bailout. The plans, announced Monday after two weeks of dithering, involve Britain, Germany, France and some others recapitalizing national banks that require help, and providing state guarantees and other measures to kick-start the stalled credit market. The details are strikingly different from the U.S. approach adopted by U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and the Federal Reserve Board. And there’s a big reason for that: The Europeans think Paulson got it badly wrong, and have watched aghast as he failed to restore confidence in the world’s financial system.

EU Nations Commit 1.3 Trillion Euros to Bank Bailouts

October 13, 2008 by Infinite

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) — France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria committed 1.3 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion) to guarantee bank loans and take stakes in lenders, racing to prevent the collapse of the financial system.

The announcements came as Britain took majority stakes today in Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and HBOS Plc. The coordinated steps followed a pledge yesterday by European leaders to bolster market confidence as the global economy slides toward recession.

“What it should do is stabilize the banking system,” said Peter Hahn, a fellow at London’s Cass Business School and former managing director at Citigroup Inc. “Will it stop us from having a recession? No, nothing is going to stop us from having a recession.”

Germans Stockpiling Gold Amid Market Panic

October 12, 2008 by Infinite

Gold dealers can’t keep up with the demand

German gold dealers have stopped taking new orders for the precious metal as demand has skyrocketed. Gold is seen as a safe investment during the market turmoil.

In uncertain economic times, Germans are dumping stocks and shares to take refuge in precious metal, accoring to a Wednesday article in a Berlin newspaper.

German gold dealers report running low on stocks of gold bars and coins.

Only state intervention can save us now, says Merkel

October 12, 2008 by Infinite

BERLIN: Only the state can restore trust to financial markets now, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted as saying on Sunday amid reports that Berlin was about to unveil a huge rescue package for its banks.

“Only action by the state is capable of restoring the necessary trust,” Merkel was quoted as saying by the Bild am Sonntag weekly following talks on Saturday in France with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“In this it is important that countries do not act unilaterally but that we coordinate at European and international level and then implement the measures within our national responsibilities,” Merkel said.

Germany’s Car Industry Crashes

October 12, 2008 by Infinite

For years, Germany Inc.’s best promotional vehicles have been the world-class luxury cars the country produces. Shiny Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars are like mobile billboards for excellence, from New York to Moscow, Buenos Aires to Shanghai.

But as the global financial crisis begins to take its toll on the real economy, Germany’s export machine has hit a wall. German exports fell 2.5% in August, the sharpest fall since 2003, as consumers and companies around the world cancel orders for everything from high-end industrial equipment to chemicals.

The car industry, still Germany’s biggest employer, is the worst hit. High gas prices in key markets such as the U.S. have slowed sales for months. Some consumers have been waiting for more fuel-efficient models, while many more are now delaying new purchases because of uncertainty over their jobs. Thanks to the credit crunch, even people who want to buy are finding finance has dried up.

All that spells trouble for the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen, Ford Europe and General Motors’ Europe arm, Opel. Ferdinand Dudenhoffer, a respected industry analyst, predicts that the number of new German cars delivered to customers in 2008 will fall by at least 100,000 units to around 3.1 million, and will likely slip below three million next year. As a result, he says, German car companies will have to cut up to 20,000 jobs over the coming year.

Read moreGermany’s Car Industry Crashes

Germany to allow domestic military deployment

October 6, 2008 by Infinite

BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s governing coalition partners want to change the constitution to allow for military deployment within the country if needed to combat terrorism, officials said Monday.

The proposal would allow use of the military only if police are overwhelmed and cannot properly respond to a situation themselves.

“It is not to be used generally, but only in very specific cases,” Interior Ministry spokeswoman Daniela-Alexandra Pietsch said.

The center-left Social Democratic Party – which makes up half of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition – had been opposed to the proposal but agreed late Sunday after working out an agreement that includes strict guidelines for domestic deployment.

Financial crisis: Stock market suffers its worst fall in history

October 6, 2008 by Infinite

The UK stock market has suffered its worst one-day fall in history as the banking crisis intensified.

The FTSE-100 index of Britain’s biggest companies dropped by 391.06 points – its steepest ever fall – to end the day down 7.9 per cent.

The FTSE’s tumble was mirrored across Europe, as markets in France, Germany, Italy and Spain all recorded heavy falls.

On Wall Street, the panic drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average down through the 10,000 level for the first time in four years. The Dow was off 4.6 per cent at 9580.68 by lunchtime in New York as the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 5 per cent. The mild euphoria that greeted the passage of the $700bn bail-out of Wall Street on Friday evaporated as traders digested the more bad news from Europe.

A statement by Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, to Parliament failed to calm nerves with the stock market taking a further dive as he spoke.

The Chancellor refused to outline firm plans to deal with the crisis – however, he confirmed the Government was working on a radical scheme which could be implemented in the coming weeks.

Germany guarantees bank deposits

October 5, 2008 by Infinite

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück announcing their plan for Hypo Real Estate in Berlin on Sunday. (Pool photo by Rainer Jensen)

FRANKFURT: As German leaders and bankers worked feverishly to rescue a lender considered too big to fail, the government announced Sunday that it would guarantee all private savings accounts in Germany – worth about €500 billion – in an effort to reinforce increasingly shaky confidence in the financial system.

Officials in Berlin were frantically trying to salvage a €35 billion, or $48 billion, bailout devised just a week ago for Hypo Real Estate, a major German property lender based in Munich and member of the benchmark stock index, after commercial banks withdrew their support, fearing greater losses.

Europe fights financial storm as bank deal collapses

October 5, 2008 by Infinite

Nicolas Sarkozy (C) flanked by Angela Merkel (L) and Gordon Brown

PARIS (AFP) – The leaders of Europe’s four main economic powers vowed to protect fragile banks in their fight against the global credit crisis as the biggest rescue in German financial history collapsed.

France, Germany, Britain and Italy put on a united front, promising a more coordinated approach to the credit crunch, although Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted states would mainly act individually.