Three German deputies had visited Iran the previous week and the same has highlighted the resilient trade relationship of Germany with Tehran. However, the same has sometimes been a reason of outrage and frustration for France, Britain, the US and Israel to impose strict EU economic sanctions.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have a great scope in East Africa. Seeing the hope of development in the area, ex- German President Horst Kohler has promised that he will make all efforts for development of the industry.

Tuesday, the shares of Telefonica's O2-branded German unit saw an increase by 3%, as per a recent report. The rise was seen probably in the wake of a biggest initial public offering by Europe in more than a year.

With the upsurge in popularity of electronic books and shrinking print market, Pearson Plc has joined hands with Bertelsmann SE's Random House. The new merged entity, Penguin Random House, would be 53% owned by Guetersloh, Germany-based Bertelsmann and rest will be owned by London-based Pearson.

It seems that it would take a bit longer for Europe to make Euro sustainable in the long run. There is relief seen among many after the European Central Bank claimed that it might act as buyer of last resort for the bonds of troubled euro zone members, though under some conditions; there is a lot to be done to shed all fears.

On the basis of its projections that Samsung Electronics will retain its top-notch spot in smartphone unit sales during the coming two-year period, Fitch Ratings has recently affirmed Samsung's rating at 'A+'/Stable.

N+1 Brewin, new corporate advisory & brokerage firm formed following the takeover of the Brewin Corporate Advisory & Broking division by N+1, it would add up to 30 people over the next few years to expand its reach.

Chief Executive Jamie Cumming said the firm’s 55-strong workforce would be expanded as it targets new areas.

Microsoft’s profits slipped slightly in the final quarter of last year as weak PC market hit the software giant’s core Windows business.

During the three months to the end of December 2011, Microsoft pocketed a net profit of $6.624 billion (£4.27 billion), slightly down from $6.634 billion in the previous quarter.