Germany drawing up six-point plan for EU growth: report

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Sunday the government would decide on tax cuts in autumn to encourage companies to boost capital expenditure as part of sweeping reforms to revive the economy from nearly two decades of stagnation.

Germany, the world's number two exporter, expects healthy growth in foreign demand for its goods thanks to booming emerging markets and a nascent US recovery, according to a report on Sunday.News magazine Der Spiegel cited a new poll for the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) among 3,200 firms forecasting a four-percent rise in exports in 2012.The figure was down slightly from the average over the last 10 years of nearly six-percent growth in exports, traditionally the backbone of Europe's top economy, Der Spiegel said.

German building giant Hochtief is in talks with Qatar in the hope that the emirate will take a stake in the company in order to thwart a hostile takeover bid by Spain's ACS, a report on Sunday said.News weekly Der Spiegel reported in an advance copy of its Monday issue that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had arranged a Berlin meeting between Hochtief chief executive Herbert Luetkestratkoetter and Qatar's economy minister.But Doha has not taken a decision on possible investment in the company, Spiegel said.

Via Pater Tenebrarum of Acting-Man blog, As Der Spiegel reports, capital flight from Southern Europe has stopped and even slightly reversed in recent months. This is a belated reaction – so it is surmised – to the 'OMT' announcement effect.

PARIS (Reuters) - A media report that a planned merger between European aerospace group EADS and British defense company BAE Systems was on the brink of collapse is "unfounded", a senior French government source said on Friday. Both the French president's office and the prime minister's office said they had no comment on a report in the online edition of Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine, citing German government sources, saying the talks had practically collapsed. (Reporting By Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by John Irish)

Via Google Translate [with some minor tweaks by me where obvious], Spiegel Online reports Federal Government is considering nationalization of Commerzbank

Germany has allowed the sale of 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia after decades of blocking heavy weapons sales to the kingdom, the Der Spiegel said Saturday.The federal security council approved the sale last week, the weekly news magazine said without citing sources.The Saudis want to buy 200 Leopard 2A7+ tanks in an order potentially worth billions of euros to companies Kraus-Maffei and Rheinmetall, Der Spiegel said.