German Exports Fall More Than Expected

By Linda Young

Berlin, Germany

German exports fell by a larger percentage than forecast for October because of lower demand from southern European markets affected by the economic crisis.

Exports fell by 3.6 percent in October compared to September. It was larger than the 1 percent drop expected and the largest decrease seen by Germany in six months. By contrast, exports only fell by 1 percent in September compared to August.

Germany is Europe's largest economy and it has been the economic engine for the region during the ongoing economic crisis.

In addition, German imports fell by 1 percent, which was also more than expected.

Germany saw its trade surplus fall from $23 billion to $15.5 billion, which is about 5.5 percent of the nations' gross domestic product. Moreover, the surplus in the current account fell to $13.8 billion from $21.4 billion a month earlier.

 

Italian terrorist group claims credit for Deutsche Bank letter bomb

Hesse, Germany

Italian far-left group Federazione Anarchica Informale (FAI) has claimed responsibility for a letter bomb sent to Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank.

The bomb, addressed to CEO Josef Ackermann, was intercepted at the bank's headquarters in Hesse. Police said the bomb was fully operational and could have exploded.

Hesse police suspect more bombs will be discovered in coming days. "In the intensive search for evidence, authorities from the Hesse state crime office found a hidden, rolled up letter written in Italian," police said in a statement.

"In it, the 'FAI - Federazione Anarchica Informale' claimed responsibility for the attempted letter bomb attack against Dr. Ackermann. The authors spoke of 'three explosions against banks, bankers, ticks and bloodsuckers'. Based on that one must assume that another two mail bombs may have been sent," police said.

The FAI last made headlines in 2003 when it sent letter bombs to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. "At that time, the FAI also wrote to claim responsibility," the police said. The incident alerted large banks across the world against such bombs.