Frankfurt - Turkey is to stage 300 cultural events with 700 performers next month in Germany as part of its culture outreach for the Frankfurt Book Fair, fair officials said Wednesday.

Every year, one country takes on the role of special guest, highlighting its literary achievements for German audiences. Turkey is also to put on a special exhibition at the October 15-19 fair.

Frankfurt, Sept 23 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who is on his ten-day visit to the United States and France, will arrive in New York today. The Prime Minister had an overnight halt at Frankfurt.

During his visit, Dr. Singh is likely to meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in New York tomorrow.

Frankfurt - A German bank that handed over 350 million euros this week to bankrupt Lehman Brothers and got nothing in exchange may pursue criminal charges against its own executives, a report said Saturday.

KfW, a government bank that administers federal shareholdings and passes out soft loans to home-owners, was dubbed "Germany's dumbest bank" by the mass-circulation newspaper Bild when the scandal broke.

Frankfurt  - Stock in Volkswagen AG shot 27 per cent higher Thursday as a mystery buyer scooped up shares in Europe's biggest carmaker, which is at the centre of a battle for control.

The stock ended electronic trading in Frankfurt at 304.00 euros.

Luxury car maker Porsche declared this week that Volkswagen had effectively become its subsidiary. Porsche controls 35 per cent of VW. But the German state of Lower Saxony contends its 20-per-cent stake gives it veto rights to obstruct Porsche.

Frankfurt - Six major central banks pumped billions of US dollars of extra short-term credit into the world's financial markets Thursday, amid fears that this week's crisis was drying up liquidity.

European share prices steadied after the joint operation, which was triggered by the growing reluctance of commercial banks to lend one another money in a week where one financial institution after another has succumbed.

Frankfurt  - German bank Commerzbank affirmed Thursday its plans to take over Dresdner Bank, rejecting speculation that earlier hit the Commerzbank share price.

Insurance group Allianz, the current owner of Dresdner, also said the deal was still intact.

"There has been no change to the plan," an Allianz spokeswoman told the dpa-AFX financial news wire in Germany. A Commerzbank spokesman said the merger would proceed "as planned."

Allianz stock was trading at 92.35 euros, down 2.4 per cent, just after noon on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Commerzbank bounced back from the morning speculation, trading at 14.17 euros, up 5.1 per cent.