BP may sell German gas stations for $2.6 billion (Reuters)

VIENNA (Reuters) - BP Plc is seeking to sell its German petrol station chain Aral for around 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), German magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported on Saturday, citing investment bankers familiar with BP's plans.

German central bank governor Axel Weber has said Greece may need up to 80 billion euros (108 billion dollars) in financial aid to avoid default, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.Weber made the remarks to a small group of German lawmakers at a closed-door meeting, the report quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying.The central bank chief told the meeting that Greece's situation was worsening and that "the numbers are changing all the time," the source said.

Reuters - A German economist plans to launch a Constitutional Court challenge to the 30 billion euro aid package for Greece agreed by euro zone finance ministers, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday.

German tax authorities can expect to rake in more than one billion euros from tax dodgers with bank accounts in Switzerland after buying a CD containing their names, a German tax union said Saturday."Due to voluntary reports of tax evasion, the payment of tax arrears is estimated at more than one billion euros (1.35 billion dollars), union chief Dieter Ondracek told Saturday's mass-circulation Bild.

The German trade surplus, a pillar of the eurozone economy, climbed to 13.6 billion euros (20 billion dollars) in October, figures released on Wednesday by the national statistics office showed.In September, the biggest European economy and one of the world's leading exporters had posted a surplus of 10.4 billion euros.German exports gained 2.5 percent from September to 74.6 billion euros, the Destatis service said.

The troubled German bank Hypo Real Estate said Monday it had paid back a small part of the aid it had received from the government and other German financial institutions.HRE, which is now completely state-owned, reimbursed seven billion euros (10 billion dollars) of an initial rescue package worth 50 billion euros provided in 2008 by a consortium that included the federal government, the central bank and private institutions, a statement said.The total amount of guarantees still at HRE's disposition fell to 95 billion euros from 102 billion, the bank said.

Around 8,300 jobs will be slashed in Europe, Opel boss Nick Reilly said on Tuesday, as he unveiled a long-awaited plan for the future of the ailing General Motors unit and its 50,000 employees.The proposal to restructure Opel and British sister brand Vauxhall has now been officially submitted to German authorities, he said, and included a planned investment of 11 billion euros (15 billion dollars) by 2014.Opel is seeking at least 1.5 billion euros in German aid.

The biggest German energy group E.ON said Tuesday that it would sell its electricity distribution network to the Dutch group Tennet for around 1.1 billion euros (1.6 billion dollars).The sale of 10,700 kilometres (6,700 miles) of electric lines owned by E.ON in Germany would take effect on January 1, a statement said."The value of the network comes to 885 million euros. The sale price stands now at 1.1 billion euros. The final price will be fixed on December 31 as a result of the net financial situation on that date," E.ON said.