"Worse Than 2008 Financial Crisis" – Germany Becomes Nation Of Bankruptcy With No End In Sight

 Via Remix News,

Germany is bracing for a continued surge in major insolvencies throughout 2025 and even 2026, according to a recent analysis by credit insurer Allianz Trade. This all comes after a disastrous 2024, which saw a record-breaking number of bankruptcies in the country.

Allianz Trade forecasts an overall increase of 11 percent in corporate insolvencies in Germany this year, reaching approximately 24,400 cases. A further 3 percent rise to 25,050 cases is anticipated for 2026. These insolvencies put an estimated 210,000 jobs at risk across Germany.

In the first quarter of this year, 16 large German companies—those with revenues of €50 million or more—filed for insolvency. While this is a slight decrease of three cases compared to the same period last year, it’s double the number recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

Milo Bogaerts, CEO of Allianz Trade in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, expressed concern over the persistently high number of major insolvencies, attributing it partly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. He warned that no respite is expected, even after 2024, which was a record-breaking negative year for insolvencies.

“Given the bleak economic outlook both in Germany and in global trade, and the many uncertainties caused by the tariff storm, we expect many major insolvencies and thus significant losses to continue in 2025,” Bogaerts stated. He added that these large-scale insolvencies will likely have a ripple effect on supplier companies, potentially creating “particularly large holes in their coffers” and impacting supply chains.

However, alarm bells are ringing across the country. The Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) published a declaration by more than 100 associations at the beginning of April where they directly addressed the ruling CDU and SPD. At the time, they were still working on a coalition agreement.

The BDI stated: “In the past few weeks, the economic situation has deteriorated dramatically. The facts are undeniable. Germany is in a serious economic crisis. A comparison with other countries shows that this crisis is primarily homemade.”

The BDI is also apparently unhappy with the coalition’s details on tax policy.

“In terms of tax policy, the coalition lags behind what is necessary. In the future, every scope must be used to relieve companies in order for the tax burden to quickly become internationally competitive,” said Tanja Gönner, BDI’s general manager. “The contract rightly formulates an ambitious modernization agenda for the state and administration, which must now also be followed by a determined implementation…. The bottom line is that we will measure the federal government by whether it will make the state more efficient and modernized.”

Sectors particularly affected include textile-related retail, the automotive supply industry, and healthcare. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, three German hospitals and three large textile companies filed for insolvency, alongside two automotive suppliers and two chemical companies.

In 2024, Germany saw a negative record of 87 major insolvencies, a 36 percent increase from the previous year. The combined turnover of these affected companies reached €17.4 billion, marking a 55 percent jump compared to 2023.

In an article for Tagesschau, reporters spoke to Jürgen Philippi, a publicly appointed auctioneer who also writes court reports for bankruptcy advisors. He has been working in the business for 30 years.

“There was a lot going on in the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent years. But now it’s worse. More and more industries are affected. I haven’t seen that yet,” said Philippi, who is so overburdened with bankruptcies that he has turned many clients away.

He also says there are fewer and fewer buyers willing to try and turn companies around.

“I am increasingly observing that managing directors do not want to continue their battered companies, although there are still market opportunities. Their reasoning? Taxes that are too high, too much bureaucracy,” said Philippi.

“‘I don’t want to do that anymore,’ I hear that more and more,” he added.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/worse-2008-financial-crisis-germany-becomes-nation-bankruptcy-no-end-sight

US Refuses Air Cover For European 'Reassurance Force' In Postwar Ukraine

 The British and French-led effort to establish a 'coalition of the willing' to stand up to Russia and defend Ukraine just hit another major roadblock, as Bloomberg is reporting Wednesday the US has effectively vetoed a plan to provide American air defenses to back a "reassurance force" for postwar Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been insisting that US-backed air defenses are key to any future permanent settlement plans for ending the war. Western proposals for ending the war have all featured foreign-backed and monitored security guarantees for Ukraine.

Source: EPA-EFE

On this, Starmer had said back in February that "There must be a US backstop" and that the "US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again."

After Western billions already sunk into keeping Ukraine's military and civic infrastructure afloat, the UK and France are also seeking from President Trump pledges of future air power, and border surveillance and intelligence.

The Europeans also envision a strong, permanent security bulwark backed by the United States along NATO's eastern flank.

Yet, President Trump has repeatedly warned allies that if NATO countries don’t pay their fair share they won’t be protected. This despite European leaders as well as some US politicians expressing recent concern that the Atlantic alliance is becoming weaker than ever, and that Article 5 collective defense is in peril.

Trump has lashed out at NATO countries for not even meeting their current two percent spending goal while the unfair burden has long fallen United States.

"We appreciate the work that the allies, particularly France and the United Kingdom together with Germany and others have undertaken to develop the coalition of the willing," US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said at a press breifing Brussels on Wednesday. "We are counting on all our European allies to continue taking the leadership position in contributing military resources and providing the political capital to make security guarantees a reality."

All of this comes as it was only on Tuesday that Dutch slapped down a proposal to increase defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), key to NATO's capability targets, in a non-binding motion.

While it doesn't have legal force at this point, this makes clear parliament's opinion, unleashing deeper tensions among NATO allies, and as the Trump White House exerts pressure to rapidly raise collective defense.

Also, Bloomberg reported separately Tuesday, "NATO is asking European member states to expand ground-based air-defense capabilities fivefold as the alliance races to fill a key gap in response to the threat of Russian aggression, people familiar with the matter said." 

All indicators are that the Trump administration no longer envisions the United States as heading up NATO, especially when other countries can't step up and pay their fair share.

Politico: Defense Sec. Hegseth skips Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting — first Pentagon chief in 3 years to do so.

The US quietly retreats from European security leadership, weakening Western military coordination, Politico. 1/ pic.twitter.com/Gys64VbMsU

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) June 4, 2025

Still, the UK and France are mapping out a plan: "The allied force — which would help ensure the security of Ukraine’s airspace, coastline and land by placing European troops away from the border at critical ports and infrastructure alongside continued deliveries of military hardware — is dependent on a peace settlement, which European officials think is increasingly unlikely," Bloomberg describes.

Of course, the other big problem in all of this is that Moscow has already made clear it will never accept NATO troops right along the border at its Ukrainian doorstep.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-refuses-air-cover-european-reassurance-force-postwar-ukraine

Cuomo gets heated as he wrongly insist COVID nursing home deaths were not undercounted

 Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo got heated — and raised his voice — as he faced attacks Wednesday on everything from sexual harassment accusations against him and nursing home deaths in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuomo stood at center stage in the Democratic mayoral primary debate amid a pile up of criticism from the eight other candidates during a fiery NBC-Politico Democratic primary mayoral debate.

“No, we didn’t undercount any deaths,” Cuomo loudly insisted during one particularly heated moment. 

The harshest attack arguably came from the Rev. Michael Blake, a former Obama administration official, who scathingly evoked the sexual harassment accusations that led to the former governor’s resignation.

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Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to get heated — and raised his voice — as he insisted nursing home deaths were not undercounted in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic.NBC 4

“The people who don’t feel safe are young women, mothers and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo,” Blake said.

“That’s the greatest threat to public safety in New York City.”

Cuomo, who has vehemently denied the accusations from 11 women, uncharacteristically declined to respond.

Blake then seized the opportunity to send a message to to women watching the live debate.

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Cuomo has also been criticized by the eight other candidates running for mayor.NBC 4

“Everyone woman watching tonight, he was just given a chance to acknowledge the clear claims and he ignored it,” Blake said.

But Cuomo didn’t stay silent when speaking about coronavirus death in nursing homes.

He got animated as he insisted nursing home deaths were not undercounted and also refused to say if he edited his administration’s controversial report on the deaths — the lynchpin of the investigation into his time as governor by the Department of Justice.

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Ex-Obama official, Rev. Michael Blake, arguably delivered the harshest attack on the former governor, citing his sexual harassment accusations that led to his resignation in 2021.NBC 4

“There was no doubt that my administration produced the report, and it did not undercount the deaths,” Cuomo eventually said but continued to defend his record.

Cuomo said COVID deaths were counted where they occurred — in hospitals or nursing homes.

But many of the 15,000 nursing home residents or patients died after they were gravely ill and transported to hospital.

And a damning 2021 report by state Attorney General Letitia James found that New York’s nursing-home death toll from COVID-19 may be more than 50% higher than Cuomo’s administration initially reported.

An audit in 2022 by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli also concluded the state Health Department intentionally “misled the public” about the number of nursing home deaths from COVID-19 to help burnish Cuomo’s reputation before a sexual harassment scandal forced him to resign as governor — claims he denied.

“It’s very, it’s very clear that’s the Trump line, the MAGA line,” Cuomo claimed.

The moderators continued to push the ex-gov, but he refused to answer.

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Cuomo declined to respond as Blake went on to say, “Everyone woman watching tonight, he was just given a chance to acknowledge the clear claims and he ignored it.”NBC 4

“I was very aware of the report,” he said.

Cuomo also dismissed a reported Justice Department probe that lied to Congress during his testimony about his handling of the pandemic.

“No, I told Congress the truth,” he said.

Rivals pounced.

Brad Lander, the city comptroller, accused Cuomo of “lying” to Congress and “grieving” nursing home families. 

Blake accused Cuomo of refusing to answer the questions.

At least 4,000 residents died after Cuomo’s administration issued a controversial March 25, 2020 mandate for nursing homes to admit “medically stable” coronavirus patients.

Critics have argued the mandate led to the deaths.

https://nypost.com/2025/06/04/us-news/andrew-cuomo-raises-his-voice-to-wrongly-insist-covid-nursing-home-deaths-were-not-undercounted/

Amazon prepares to test humanoid robots for deliveries, The Information reports

 Amazon is developing software for humanoid robots that could eventually take the jobs of delivery workers, The Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

Amazon is completing construction of a "humanoid park," an indoor obstacle course at one of the company's San Francisco, California offices, where it will soon test such robots, the report added.

The company is developing the artificial intelligence software that would power such robots, the report said, adding that Amazon plans to use hardware from other firms in its tests, for now.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for a comment outside its regular business hours.

In a series of announcements on Wednesday, Amazon demonstrated how stockroom robots, delivery people and its sprawling warehouses will all benefit from a hefty dose of AI, speeding packages to customer doorsteps.

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-prepares-test-humanoid-robots-005057409.html

Trump Bans Citizens Of 12 Countries From Traveling To The US

 Having previously hinted he might crack down on foreign visitors, late on Wednesday President Trump signed a proclamation banning nationals from 12 countries from traveling to the US, and introduced travel restrictions on seven others, reintroducing a controversial immigration policy that came to define the early days of his first term.

The ban will completely bar travel to the U.S. by citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Chad, The Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Citizens from an additional list of countries will be barred from permanently immigrating to the U.S., along with applying for tourist or student visas; those countries are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Citizens from these seven countries will still be eligible for other temporary visas, such as the H-1B or other temporary work visas.

The ban only applies to people currently outside the U.S., though anyone currently in the U.S. who leaves could get stuck abroad as a result of it. It also excludes any nationals of these countries who hold green cards, along with anyone traveling to the US for coming major sporting events, including the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028. Afghans who receive special immigrant visas, a special visa reserved for Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. military during its two-decade presence in Afghanistan, are also exempt. 

The administration justified the restrictions in a number of ways. Several of the countries, it said, had unacceptably high temporary visa overstay rates, necessitating a ban. Others, it said, couldn’t be relied upon to issue valid passports to verify a person’s identity. Haiti, the only country in the Western Hemisphere to face a complete ban, was included because “hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the U.S. during the Biden administration,” the White House said. 

That said, today's decision is hardly a surprise: Trump repeatedly promised during the campaign that, if re-elected, he would bring back an expanded version of his first travel ban, though the issuance of the ban took months longer than expected. In anticipation, numerous universities and businesses advised their students and employees to remain in the country after Trump’s inauguration to avoid being ensnared.

Citizens of many of the countries on the final list have been on high alert for months, after earlier lists circulated in several media reports. It isn’t likely, then, that the new ban would create scenes of chaos at airports across the country, as the first travel ban did when Trump signed it in a surprise move a week after taking office.

After several years of litigation, the Supreme Court in 2018 upheld the legality of Trump’s travel ban, so long as the administration could articulate a rationale for why countries are included. That will make it tougher for immigration advocates to challenge this new ban. Still, it isn’t clear how the administration included certain countries when others that meet similar criteria were left off the list.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trump-bans-citizens-12-countries-traveling-us

"Are You A Covert White Supremacist?" Fireworks In DOGE Hearing Exposing NGO Funding, Taxpayer "Theft"

 In a fiery House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) hearing on June 4, 2025, titled “Public Funds, Private Agendas: NGOs Gone Wild,” Republican lawmakers exposed the “gold bars thrown off the Titanic,” alleging the Biden administration under Democratic control of Congress had siphoned billions in taxpayer dollars to push left-wing policies like open borders and the Green New Deal through Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). 

Held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the hearing, chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), aimed to expose what Republicans call a corrupt nexus of NGOs, Democratic campaign funds, and bureaucratic cronyism. 

In a fiery exchange, Democrats pushed back with allegations that Republicans are “trying to keep a strong black woman down,” while simultaneously chastising the GOP for not codifying enough DOGE cuts, at the same as alleging Republicans are cutting vital services as part of a partisan witch hunt. Here’s the breakdown of the clash that’s got X buzzing and taxpayers fuming.

Republicans Drop the Hammer on NGO Funding

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) didn’t mince words, calling the allocation of “hundreds of billions” to NGOs under the Biden administration a “CRIME” against Americans. “There’s a difference between true charity and the government forcibly removing money from your pocket and giving it to someone else,” Burlison declared, framing the forcible removal of tax dollars to fund the ideological priorities of NGOs as outright theft.

His line of inquiry hammered witnesses like Diane Yentel of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), questioning whether her group’s advocacy for affordable housing masks a radical agenda. 

'Are you a covert white supremacist?'

Meanwhile, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) wanted to drive home the point that these NGOs are pushing partisan talking points.

“Are you a covert white supremacist,” Gill asked Yentel, after she denied being a racist.

“Are you a racist?” Gill asked Yentel, to which she replied, “with all due respect sir,  I'm here to talk about the essential work that non-profits do.”

“Excuse me,” Gill interjected. “That's a very simple question. Are you a racist?” 

“I'm not a racist,“ Yentel responded.

“That's particularly interesting,” Gill said.  “Because, according to one of your affiliate charities under your non-profit umbrella, denial of racism constitutes covert white supremacy. Are you a covert white supremacist?” 

Gill piled on, grilling Yentel on the exact “services” that the NLIHC and its affinity groups have been given taxpayer funds to provide. Refusing to answer questions under oath related to “LGBTQ+ meet-ups” for kids as young as nine, or specify what Yentel described as “essential work,” Gill fired off “you are a radical far-left activist, masquerading as someone promoting non-profit, non-partisan institutions.” 

The GOP’s narrative, echoed by witnesses like Scott Walter, Mark Krikorian and Daniel Turner, painted NGOs as pawns in a Democratic scheme to funnel public money into ideological outcomes—think green energy and immigration policies—that clash with mainstream American values. 

Chairwoman Greene touted the hearing as a Trump-aligned mission to “claw back” misused funds, with Burlison tying the issue to the DOGE’s broader “War on Waste,” citing $2.7 trillion in improper federal payments.

Democrats Fight Back: A Partisan Smokescreen?

Democrats, led by Ranking Member Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), weren’t buying the GOP’s outrage. Stansbury slammed the hearing as a transparent attempt to vilify NGOs that provide critical services like food banks and homeless shelters. “These are the glue of our communities,” she insisted, defending groups like NLIHC. Stansbury is no stranger to catastrophizing DOGE, having previously alleged that the subcommittee’s access to sensitive IRS and Treasury data—potentially targeting NGOs—somehow poses an “insider threat” to Americans’ privacy. In her April 2025 Resolution of Inquiry, Stansbury demanded answers on what she called “DOGE’s data grabs,” ironically ignoring the Biden-era censorship and USAID funds that prompted DOGE in the first place. 

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), accused Republicans of using the hearing to target Stacey Abrams. 

“There's a gubernatorial race coming up in Georgia and nobody seems to know whether Stacey is going to run or not, “ Crockett said.  “So why not muddy the waters if we can to hopefully keep a strong Black woman down.” 

The charge followed a line of inquiry from GOP lawmakers, related to a $2 billion dollar grant from the EPA to the NGO Rewiring America. In addition, Crockett alleged that Republicans were attacking Big Bird and trans kids, claiming the committee should focus instead on how Trump is “ignoring court orders and deporting American citizens.” 

The Bigger Picture: A Nation Divided

The hearing’s fallout lit up X, with conservatives cheering DOGE’s push to defund “woke” NGOs and liberals decrying a McCarthyite smear campaign. The numbers are staggering: hundreds of billions allegedly funneled to NGOs first to ensure ideological compliance from sub-recipients such as small towns and municipalities. 

Given the long-term contractual obligations between NGOs and rural America that dictate future land use and development - a structure drafted by NGOs called the Federal Plan for Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience - USAID, HUD, and the EPA grants came under particular fire. 

What’s clear is the deepening rift—Republicans see a bloated, corrupt system ripe for Trump’s axe, while Democrats warn of a chilling effect on non-profits serving the vulnerable.

As DOGE’s crusade against waste continues, expect more fireworks. Will taxpayers see their dollars redirected, or is this just political theater to score points before 2026? One thing’s certain: the battle over NGO funding is far from over, and the truth, as always, lies in the murky middle.

Watch the entire hearing below:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/are-you-covert-white-supremacist-fireworks-erupt-doge-hearing-exposing-ngo-funding