Business

Volkswagen's top executives on Tuesday said the vast automotive empire suffered a 44% reduction in net profits in 2025, with gains after tax dropping to €6.9 billion (roughly $8 billion) from 12.4 billion in 2024. That's the company's worst annual overall performance since 2016, at the height of the financial fallout from the so-called "Dieselgate" scandal.  "2025 was punctuated by geopolitical tensions, tariffs and highly intense competition," Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said in the company press release.  The VW Group is planning 50,000 job cuts across its various brands by 2030. It is struggling with falling demand and rapidly improving homemade competition in China, as well as new tariffs in the US, by far its two biggest export markets.  Like the rest of the German car in...

The war in the Middle East has left global investors grappling with the impact of a drawn-out regional conflict on global energy supplies and its potential to stoke inflation around the world. Global stock markets have been sinking and oil and gas prices have soared since Monday, the first day of trading after US and Israeli attacks on Iran on Saturday (February 28) and Iran's response, which involved targeting major oil and gas infrastructure in the region. Brent crude continued its rise on Wednesday, after breaching $80 (€69) a barrel the day before. Gas prices have also soared in Asia and Europe. Much of the investor attention continues to be on the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint accounting for around 20% of global oil supply and large quantities of gas. An official from Iran's R...

The US-Israel attack on Iran and Iran's aggressive response have unnerved oil markets, with many analysts predicting a massive rise in oil prices.While Iran is responsible for just 3-4% of global oil output, its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, considered the world's most critical oil chokepoint, is prompting oil analysts to raise their forecasts for future oil prices. A prolonged disruption to traffic in the strait, which carries around one-fifth of oil consumed globally as well as large quantities of gas, could see oil prices breach the $100-a-barrel threshold, a prospect that would hurt the global economy and push up prices that are already proving difficult to rein in. Brent crude surged as much as 13% on Monday (March 2) — the first day of trading after US-Israel strikes — before ...

Components from German manufacturers have been found in Russian drones attacking Ukrainian cities. German media reported on this in January, citing the latest Geran-5 attack drone in particular. The television broadcaster ntv and later other German media reported that transistors made by the German company Infineon Technologies were found in a Geran-5, along with other foreign-made components. The information had been published on a web portal called War and Sanctions, which is run by Ukraine's military intelligence service HUR. It includes a detailed list of all foreign components found to date in Russian military equipment. According to the War and Sanctions website, the majority of foreign components in Russian military equipment come from the US and China. Some 137 components are lis...

The United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on Saturday (February 28), an escalation that could lead to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.  Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, signalling that it can disrupt the vital maritime artery that carries a fifth of the world's oil consumption. But Tehran has never followed through on its threats to close off access to the strait completely, as this would prevent it from shipping its own oil abroad and would likely provoke a rapid international response. If Iran were to follow through on its threat, oil prices could rise sharply, which would deal a massive blow to the global economy. In February, oil prices rose to their highest levels in months as traders w...

The US-Israel attack on Iran and Iran's aggressive response have unnerved oil markets, with many analysts predicting a massive rise in oil prices.While Iran is responsible for just 3-4% of global oil output, its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, considered the most critical oil chokepoint in the world, is prompting oil analysts to raise their forecasts for future oil prices. A prolonged disruption to traffic in the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil production is transported, could see oil prices breach the $100-a-barrel threshold, a prospect that would hurt the global economy and push up prices that are already proving difficult to rein in. Oil prices had already risen to their highest levels in months ahead of the latest war in the oil-rich region as traders worried abou...

The benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) may come at a high cost for consumers. Surging demand for memory chips is driving up the price of smartphones and computers — including in Germany. "The AI boom, along with the massive investments in infrastructure and data centers that come with it, is having a noticeable impact on the memory chip market," Wolfgang Weber, CEO of the German Electro and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI), told DW. "According to analyses by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) institute, prices for these chips rose by 50% last year," Weber said. As a result, consumers may face not only longer delivery times but also higher prices for electronic and digital devices. "Bottlenecks in such key technologies pose a serious problem for our economy," the as...

How did Jeffrey Epstein, a college dropout who started off teaching math and physics, make a huge fortune? At least at the beginning, the man from a working-class family in Coney Island, New York, had luck on his side. Through connections, Epstein got a job at investment bank Bear Stearns, which gave him insight into high finance. In 1980, he was made a limited partner. After five years, he left the bank but used his time there and contacts as a sign of credibility. Jeffrey Epstein was a man of mystery and finance After he left Bear Stearns, Epstein's name resurfaced in financial circles, but it was hard to say what he actually did. "He was a cypher," said Charles Gasparino, a senior correspondent at Fox Business Network in Netflix's 2020 documentary "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich." N...

How did Jeffrey Epstein, a college dropout who started off teaching math and physics, make a huge fortune? At least at the beginning, the man from a working-class family in Coney Island, New York, had luck on his side. Through connections, Epstein got a job at investment bank Bear Stearns, which gave him insight into high finance. In 1980, he was made a limited partner. After five years, he left the bank but used his time there and contacts as a sign of credibility. Jeffrey Epstein was a man of mystery and finance After he left Bear Stearns, Epstein's name resurfaced in financial circles, but it was hard to say what he actually did. "He was a cypher," said Charles Gasparino, a senior correspondent at Fox Business Network in Netflix's 2020 documentary "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich." N...

In the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine, the West has moved to cut off Moscow's oil and gas revenues — from US President Donald Trump hitting India with tariffs for buying Russian oil to the European Union vowing to phase out Russian gas imports "once and for all" by November 2027. But one Russian energy sector has avoided major sanctions: nuclear power.  "Nuclear is not nearly as big as the oil and gas business, so it hasn't received as much attention so far," said Sebastian Stier, author of the Russia Nuclear Interdependencies chapter in the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2025.  DW has analyzed data and spoken to experts to trace the current scope of Russia's influence in the nuclear energy sector beyond the country's own borders. Russia has been steadily expanding its global nu...