Berlin- Germany, joined by Austria and Switzerland, has sent a warning to Turkey charging that the new Ilisu dam is in breach of environmental rules.

An estimated 450 million euros (612 million dollars) in export guarantees from the three nations underpin the financing for the controversial dam in south-eastern Turkey.

The Economics Ministry in Berlin confirmed Wednesday the despatch of the warning letter.

Berlin- Germany's government welcomed Wednesday the bail- out package offered by London to eight of Britain's largest banks and building societies, saying the package would stabilize the British banking system.

Joerg Asmussen, a state secretary at the Finance Ministry, told reporters in Berlin that Germany had been briefed in advance.

Berlin - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to downgrade its world economic outlook later Wednesday, a German official said in Berlin.

The growth estimate would be lower than last month, said Joerg Asmussen, a state secretary at the Finance Ministry, with the IMF to say dangers outweighed opportunities at the present time.

Berlin - German gold dealers are running low on stocks of gold bars and gold coins as customers dump stocks and shares and take refuge in precious metals, a Berlin newspaper said Wednesday.

Heiko Ganss, head of the Berlin branch of gold merchant Pro Aurum, told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper that most traders were refusing new orders at the moment.

"Demand is running well above our capacity to supply," he was quoted saying, saying retail banks in Germany were also unable to meet demand.

"Demand has exploded in the past few days," said Stephan Henkel, a gold broker at Umicore, which presses gold bars and coins and puts them on sale. Delivery times were running at two to four weeks.

Berlin - Despite the current panic on financial markets, a recession is not in prospect in Germany, leading economic research institute, DIW, said Wednesday in Berlin.

DIW said the effects of the financial crisis were "manageable" and predicted the crisis would not spread to the rest of the economy. It forecast German gross domestic product (GDP) to grow next year by 1.0 per cent.

The Berlin institute said Germany's last upswing was coming to an end, with 2008 growth likely to settle at 1.9 per cent, well below its July forecast for the current year of 2.7 per cent.

Berlin ­ - The chief executive of troubled German property leader Hypo Real Estate (HRE) has stepped down in the wake of a massive bail-out operation, the company said Tuesday.

Georg Funke resigned with immediate effect, the banking group announced in Munich. It said the supervisory board would decide on a successor later Tuesday.