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Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Police raid sites tied to the Gremium MC biker gang in Baden-Württemberg
- Three chapters in the group have been outlawed, accused of criminal activity
- The IG Metall union is expected to announce more strikes in the carmaking and metwalworking sectors
- Three people injured near Hanover in an apparent car attack, suspect on the run
- The Bundestag budget committee is discussing outstanding 2027 spending issues, a day after the coalition walked back some banner economic reforms
- Earliest Christmas markets start to open, with Glühwein/mulled wine typically costing almost €5 per cup
Here’s a roundup of news from or pertaining to Germany on November 12, 2026:
Skip next section Study: 1 in 10 German residents show signs of excessive debt11/12/2026November 12, 2026
Study: 1 in 10 German residents show signs of excessive debt
Germany’s largest credit bureau Creditreform has published its “2026 Debtors’ Atlas.”
It finds that 10.16% of German adults, or 7.36 million people, exhibit at least the early warning signs of excessive debt. A year ago the ratio was 9.74%.
“The financial situation of private consumers has further deteriorated,” Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, Creditreform’s head of economic research, said. “In particular, the sharply increased living costs, energy costs and housing costs are straining expenditures.”
Hantzsch said employment was also becoming an issue once more, saying “above all, well-paid jobs in manufacturing industries have been cut back in large numbers in recent months.”
The report also highlights rising cases of signs of excessive debt prior to legal action being taken, such as payment reminders or warnings being sent, saying “consumers are taking on more credit-financed expenditures — increasingly also for smaller purchases — at simultaneously rising interest rates.”
A larger share of men than women have excessive debts, perpetuating a longstanding trend.
People around the middle of their working lives, aged 30-39 and 40-49, are most likely to be affected — but the cohort with the fastest-rising share of people with excessive debts are young adults below the age of 30.
Bremen, Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt and North Rhine-Westphalia were among the states with the highest rates of excess debts, while the wealthy and fiscally conservative states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg had the lowest levels.
Edited by:Alex Berryhttps://p.dw.com/p/5PN3JSkip next section DAX clears 27,000 points for first time11/12/2026November 12, 2026
DAX clears 27,000 points for first time
Germany’s main DAX stock market index has cleared the 27,000-point mark for the first time in its history in morning trading.
It climbed by around 1.3% in order to pass the milestone.
A combination of some positive outlook data from major companies, not least engineering giant Siemens, and the falling oil prices of recent days have helped fuel the uptick.
Siemens’ shares had risen by almost 5%, to just over €291 (around $323) each, helping to spur on the gains and making the company the morning’s top performer.
Despite several years of low growth and recession in the German economy, the DAX, like many Western indices, is now trading twice as high as it was prior to the COVID pandemic.
Edited by:Alex Berryhttps://p.dw.com/p/5PMi4Skip next section Police raid sites of Gremium MC biker gang in Baden-Württemberg11/12/2026November 12, 2026
Police raid sites of Gremium MC biker gang in Baden-Württemberg
Hundreds of police officers searched apartments and meeting sites for the biker group “Gremium MC” in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg early on Thursday.
The state interior ministry said the operation was part of a move to outlaw three sub-chapters of the group, the ones based in Böblingen and Leonberg, as well as the “Gremium MC Chapter Nomads Bosphorus Türkiye.”
This last group was highlighted as a meaningful part of Gremium MC by security officials. It describes itself on Facebook as a great example that “people of different cultures and faiths can be strong together,” featuring images of men posing with knives and other weapons.
Gremium MC prominently incorporates into its iconography the symbol of the Prussian military medal for exceptional valor, the Iron Cross, which was discontinued after World War I, reintroduced by Adolf Hitler during World War II, and then scrapped for good.
State Interior Minister Manuel Hagel was expected to make further comments later in the day in Ludwigsburg.
Gremium MC is deemed an “outlaw motorcycle gang” in Baden-Württemberg’s latest security report, a term used for biker groups that do not recognize the state monopoly on the use of force and are often tied to organized crime.
“Extortion, drug dealing and pimping in particular tend to be part of their activities,” state authorities say.
Baden-Württemberg counts 154 biker chapters in the state with around 2,000 members.
Founded in 1972 in Mannheim, various chapters of Gremium MC across the country have faced legal issues in recent years. In 2021, another chapter in the southwest, Gremium MC Southgate in Heidelberg, was outlawed on suspicion of organized crime activity.
Edited by:Alex Berryhttps://p.dw.com/p/5PMaoSkip next section Hanover: 3 injured by attacker in car overnight11/12/2026November 12, 2026
Hanover: 3 injured by attacker in car overnight
Police in Hanover reported early on Thursday that three men were injured by an unknown driver in a car in the nearby town of Ronneberg.
One person sustained severe injuries in the incident late on Wednesday, police said.
Two of the wounded were taken to a nearby hospital while the other could be cared for at the scene.
Police said the driver fled the scene and that a search operation was ongoing. Authorities were also still investigating a potential motive for the apparent attack.
Edited by:Alex Berryhttps://p.dw.com/p/5PMehSkip next section Welcome to our updates11/12/2026November 12, 2026
Welcome to our updates
Gemorsche and/or Gudde Morga!
Today’s updates start with a focus between the southwestern Kurpfalz and Swabian regions, where police have launched major morning raids against a biker gang.
The state Interior Ministry in Baden Württemberg has outlawed three of its chapters. Hundreds of police officers mobilized in the early hours of the morning.
The major IG Metall trade union is planning further strikes in the carmaking sector and other metalworking industries, with an announcement anticipated later in the day.
To the north, near Hanover, police report an apparent car attack injuring three men overnight.
And in the spirit of offering the public service journalism people are truly thirsting for, we’ll have some info on the average and localized pricing of mulled wine or Glühwein at Christmas markets this year, as the early birds start to open their doors to visitors. (Yes, already!)
Stay tuned for updates on all this and anything else of note in or pertaining to Germany as the day progresses.
Edited by:Alex Berryhttps://p.dw.com/p/5PMUXShow more posts
