The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in Germany. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are from the previous close.

DAX Index futures expiring in September added 4.5, or 0.1 percent, to 6,442 as of 8:12 a.m. in Frankfurt. The DAX increased 1.6 percent to 6,420.54.

German stocks pared earlier gains as Commerzbank AG, Infineon Technologies AG and Fresenius Medical Care AG retreated.

The benchmark DAX Index was little changed at 6,421.44 as of 5:11 p.m. in Frankfurt after rising as much as 0.6 percent. The HDAX Index of the country’s 110 biggest companies added 0.2 percent to 3,297.12.

German stocks fell as oil advanced for a third day, damping the earnings outlook for automakers and airlines.

Daimler AG, the world’s second-largest maker of luxury cars, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG led a retreat among shares sensitive to swings in crude prices. A report showed an unexpected decline in U.S. inventories and Tropical Storm Gustav is forecast to enter the Gulf of Mexico, home to more than a fifth of U.S. production. Infineon Technologies AG, Europe’s second-largest chipmaker, fell the most in five weeks. Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. said profit fell more than estimated.

INDIANAPOLIS — “The World’s Home of the Figure 8” announced today that Eastgate Chrysler will provide four beautiful convertibles for this years 32nd Annual World Figure 8 Championship on September 6th. These high-end automobiles will carry the starting field of drivers around the track on a series of parade laps to greet the fans during driver introductions. This gesture gives fans a last chance to let their favorite drivers hear their support and gives the 33 starters the acknowledgement they deserve before the fireworks light up the night sky. We would like to thank the folks at Eastgate Chrysler for their support in this the “Greatest Event on the Planet”.

German car maker Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) does not intend to build another factory for its Smart brand minicars, the company said on Monday, denying a German magazine report.

“We have no plans for a second Smart plant,” said a spokesman for the Mercedes-Benz division, which includes Smart.

It has been one long waiting game for this Wizard of Oz behind Brisbane’s fledgling Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival.

Waiting … for the perceptions of southern states to catch up with our city’s rapidly evolving rag trade.

Waiting … to convince interstate designers and media that he might actually know what he’s doing.

Waiting … for our State and local governments to open their own eyes to the value of his annual retail showcase.

The effects of gasoline prices that have doubled in just three years will be more evident than ever over the next two years as a parade of more fuel-efficient cars and light trucks reaches American showrooms.

The trend reflects what experts and automakers believe is a permanent change in automotive tastes among Americans stung by $4-plus-a-gallon gasoline while they struggle with rising food prices and declining home values. “I think we’re looking at a permanent shift toward more fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting for the consumer market research firm J.D. Power and Associates. “Not all of it is permanent - some is temporary due to the economic environment.”

After Thursday’s resolution of one of the most aggressive takeover battles seen by corporate Germany in recent times, Daimler, the only European car maker without any big or majority stake holders, emerged as a vulnerable prey.

As a result, speculation mounted that the maker of Mercedes-Benz may spin off its market-leading trucks business as a way to help boost its weak share price, according to a report in Germany’s Manager Magazine, which did not identify its sources.

Chrysler LLC has decided to keep its requirement that all workers take the same two-week summer vacation.

The company told employees by e-mail on Wednesday that the 2009 summer break will take place the weeks of July 13 and 20.

The struggling automaker told workers in March that it would require all of them to take the same two weeks off this year.

A delegation of high-ranking representatives from civil rights, minority, consumer and worker rights advocacy groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), were joined today by several dozen activists carrying signs calling for an end to a predatory lending scheme by Daimler/Mercedes Benz and the Port of Long Beach. Noisy protests at the German Embassy in Washington, DC and Mercedes-Benz’ parent company in the Detroit-area culminated with the simultaneous delivery of a report to company and diplomatic officials entitled “Foreclosure on Wheels: Long Beach’s Truck Program Puts Drivers at High Risk for Default.”
In a written statement by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond read at the German Embassy, Bond emphasized that Daimler/Mercedes’ participation in the Long Beach financing scheme may have wide-reaching effects in communities of color that are already struggling economically: “The current sub-prime mortgage debacle illustrates how many institutions profit by enticing minority and low-income borrowers with schemes using too-easy credit to finance purchases with loans they are unable to repay. We ask Daimler’s corporate officials to show their commitment to socially responsible business practices by abandoning this risky, dangerous venture — if not for the sake of Daimler shareholders and their company’s image, then for the sake of the truck drivers and their communities.”