Munich  - HypoVereinsbank (HVB) chief Wolfgang Sprissler defended Tuesday the German bank's takeover by Italy's Unicredit saying it had been in HVB's best-long term strategic interests.

Speaking at HVB's last annual shareholders meeting, Sprissler said that it would also help the bank "through periods of weak economic conditions."

Sprissler also said the Munich-based HVB's second quarter had turned in a satisfactory second-quarter performance despite the turbulence in global financial markets.

Unicredit owns more than 95 per cent of HVB and plans to take over the remaining stakes held by small shareholders as part of a so-called Squeeze Out.

As a result, HVB will not hold any further annual general metings.

Munich - Giant German electronics group Siemens AG said Tuesday it had reached an agreement with

Berlin - German consumer prices edged up again in five key states during July, data released Tuesday showed, with analysts expecting annual inflation in Europe's biggest economy to reach 3.4 per ce

Munich - German conglomerate Siemens decided Tuesday to sue two former chief executives for setting up a system of corruption that paid kickbacks to secure lucrative foreign contracts.

The supervisory board of the German electronics and engineering group decided claims should be brought against 10 former members of the main executive board who left as the scandal was exposed.

They include two former chief executives, Heinrich von Pierer and Klaus Kleinfeld. The company accuses them of lapses from their duty to keep the company organization well-run in the period 2003 to 2006.

The decision to sue is a first in the normally cosy world of big German corporations where past management errors are usually ignored.

Berlin - German industry is planning to boost its investment in China's booming economy, a survey released Tuesday said.

Drawn up by Germany's Chamber of Trade and Industry (DIHK), the survey found that 40 per cent of German companies that are already active in China plan to increase their investment in the Asian powerhouse economy.

The DHIK estimated that about 200,000 German jobs are now dependent on exports to China.

"Germany's trade with Asia in 2008 and 2009 will be focused on German-Chinese economic relations," the DIHK said releasing the survey.

"A third of German exports to Asia will be for customers in China," the chamber said.

Frankfurt - Europe's biggest software group SAP AG said Tuesday despite strong business in emerging markets second-quarter net profit fell 9.1 per cent.

Based in the German town of Walldorf, SAP said that net profit in the latest quarter slipped to 408 million euros (642 million dollars) from 449 million euros during the same period last year.

This was despite a strong showing by its business in the Middle East, Africa and the Asian Pacific region.