Primary schools across Germany have been offering basic English lessons for about five years now, but they may not be doing young children much good, news magazine <i>Der Spiegel</i> reported this week.
Germany's second biggest bank, Commerzbank, may raise fresh funds via what would be the first government-backed German bond issue within the framework of a banking sector rescue package, a spokeswoman told AFP on Tuesday.
Germany's fractious coalition will squabble this week over a second boost for the ailing economy, but on Sunday Chancellor Angela Merkel first had to restore harmony among her own conservative allies.
IMF director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn urged Germany to boost public spending, in line with other European countries, to stave off global recession, in a television interview on Thursday.
The proportion of eastern German employees earning less than €7.50 per hour is 20 percent, compared to 12 percent of western Germans, according to the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH). The study was based on data collected from thousands of German households. According to the institute, a worker earning €7.50 per hour and working a 40 hour week would bring home roughly €1,300 per month gross salary.
