Free Republic

Brand CEO Brandstaetter to join management board - sources Supervisory board to meet on Thursday HAMBURG, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess will likely stay on to lead Europe's largest carmaker as part of a solution that will see him cede some responsibilities following a clash with labour leaders, two people familiar with the matter said. The solution would potentially end the carmaker's latest leadership tussle, which has caused uncertainty among investors and led the group's preferred shares to fall significantly in recent weeks. After protracted negotiations led by Volkswagen Supervisory Board Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch, a way...

The decision, one of the biggest policy turnarounds in Germany's history, lays bare a lack of coordination untypical for Merkel, a physicist by training and known for her disciplined step-by-step approach. As the Fukushima disaster approaches its fifth anniversary, Germany's utilities are in crisis and struggling to shoulder the shutdown bill. There are fears the government may have to bail them out. Germany is already facing billions of euros in costs related to the influx of thousands of refugees, an emissions scandal at Volkswagen and multiple bailouts for its banks.