One in five German businesses faces liquidity squeeze - survey

One in five German companies is facing a liquidity squeeze amid a second lockdown that has seen most stores and schools shuttered since mid-December, a survey of 18,000 businesses by the DIHK chambers of commerce showed. Especially hard hit are creative and artistic businesses, where a third said they saw a risk of insolvency, followed by tourism agencies with 30%, taxi companies with 27%, and restaurants and bars with 20%. Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders agreed last week to extend a lockdown until mid-February as Germany, once seen as a role model for fighting the pandemic, struggles with a second wave of infections.