Schaeuble proposes scrapping Germany's 'solidarity tax': regional press

(Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has proposed scrapping the "solidarity tax" that supports the country's poorer eastern states when it expires in 2019, a German newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Russia Cuts Budget to Try to Spur Growth

MOSCOW — The Russian government on Thursday approved across-the-board budget cuts over the next two years in the clearest sign yet that officials do not expect its economy, the world’s eighth-largest, to revive soon, and that the Kremlin is ready to try a new policy to spur growth.