VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Germany's defense minister has criticised Airbus (AIR.PA) over new delays in the delivery of A400M military transport planes, saying the company had a serious problem with product quality.

The European Central Bank is poised to announce a plan on Thursday to buy government bonds, resorting to its last big policy tool for breathing life into the flagging euro zone economy and fending off deflation.

Sounding more like the economics professor he once was than the dangerous far-right firebrand some say he has become, Bernd Lucke spoke at length about the perils of the euro zone and unfettered immigration at a campaign rally last week.

The chief executive of controversial online ride-sharing company Uber stuck a newly conciliatory tone on Sunday, promising to create 50,000 new jobs this year across Europe in cities that are willing to reach deals to help his firm operate.

Deutsche Telekom considered making a takeover bid for Dutch rival KPN in 2014, with a view to expanding in neighboring countries, sources familiar with the matter said.

German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim is considering the sale of its U.S. generics unit Roxane Labs for as much as 2 billion euros ($2.36 billion), Bloomberg said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Unease over the global economy engulfed commodities and dented Asian equities on Wednesday, while the euro loitered near nine-year lows as investors bet the European Central Bank was just a week away from launching a new stimulus campaign.

Germany's largest utility E.ON AG has agreed to sell its Italian gas- and coal-fired power plants to Czech energy company EPH, ridding itself of unwanted assets from an acquisition spree in 2007.

Solar power firm SunEdison (SUNE.N) and Indian conglomerate Adani Enterprises plan to invest up to $4 billion in what would be one of India's largest solar panel makers, a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he hosts an investment summit.

A landmark legal opinion this week will remind the European Central Bank of the limits it faces as it advances towards money printing, while a tumbling oil price saps inflation in debt-strained Europe.

Germany's highest court has declined to hear a complaint brought by online taxi service Uber over a ban on its activity in the city of Hamburg, dealing a blow to the company.

Amazon prides itself on being a company that breaks the rules, but its recent success in Hollywood also reflects an embrace of a more traditional, old-fashioned script.

Germany's unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 6.5 percent in December while Italy's pushed up to a new high of 13.4 percent, underscoring the vast differences within the struggling euro zone economy.

The euro hit a nine-year trough on Wednesday as collapsing oil prices and worries about the world economy drove skittish investors into the arms of safe-haven sovereign debt.

British elections in May could arguably have as much impact on euro zone stability as this month's snap poll in Greece, making for an anxious period of up to six months for European investors.