Berlin - Women who wear glasses don't have it easy when it comes to putting on make-up. Depending on whether a woman is farsighted or nearsighted, here eyes look either larger or smaller than they actually are through her spectacles.

Apart from that, both tinted and non-reflecting lenses soak up colour suddenly rendering the eyes paler than intended. The problem for some women is that they see only a blurred image when they look in the mirror without glasses, and contact lenses are not a viable solution for everyone.

These problems can easily be resolved, said Kerstin Kruschinski of a vision centre in Berlin.

Munich - Germans love to invite friends over for a party in the back yard.

A survey published in the July edition of a German home magazine shows that 71 per cent of the people surveyed enjoy throwing a garden party. The same percentage like being invited to garden parties given by friends or acquaintances, the survey showed.

The survey also showed that all neighbours are invited to 41 per cent of the garden parties. About one-third of the people surveyed invite friends over weekly during the warm summer months.

Munich - Office workers know that in high summer it can be difficult to dress professionally and at the same time feel comfortable in warm temperatures.

Although women have it easier than men, it's often impossible to achieve both when dressing for work.

"As harsh as it sounds, men of the world wear long sleeves under a suit or sports coat even when it's 32 degrees Celsius," said Georg Stiels, a style consultant in Munich. "Anything else is in fact unfashionable."

Dusseldorf - Posh designer sofas are not the only alternative when it comes to freshening up your home.

Instead of heading to the nearest furniture store, consider a trip to a flea market, a place where treasures are waiting to be discovered.

"The appeal of furniture and accessories from a flea market is that the items have a story to tell," said interior decorator Annika Egner of Karlsruhe. Whenever Egner is assigned to furnish private homes for Room Doctor, a network of German interior decorators, she reverts to old furnishings first.

Berlin - German business confidence slumped in July, a key survey to be released Thursday is forecast to show, as a surging euro, spiralling inflation and worries about higher interest rates hit sentiment in Europe's biggest economy.

After falling to 101.3 points in June, Germany's closely watched Ifo business confidence index slipped to 100 this month, analysts' predict.

Based on a survey of 7,000 German executives, the July Ifo report could set the stage for the release this week of a batch of major economic sentiment surveys, which are likely to point to a bleaker outlook taking shape across Europe.

A report released Tuesday showed consumer confidence in Italy dropping to about a 15-year low.

Frankfurt  - The board of giant German tyre maker Continental AG rejected Wednesday an 11.3-billion-euro (18-billion-dollar) takeover bid launched by bearings manufacturer Schaeffler but called for talks with the family-owned company.

Following a crisis meeting of the company's board, Hanover-based Continental said Schaeffler's offer price of 70.12 euros a share was not appropriate.

But Continental said it would now seek out talks with the Bavarian-based Schaeffler group which is owned by billionaire Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son.