Germany rules out full Opel bailout

Germany's economy minister said on Sunday that there were a host of investors interested in troubled carmaker Opel, but warned they could not expect Berlin to assume all the financial risks linked to the company.

Ahead of today's visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel to Opel's headquarters in Ruesselsheim, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg tempered hopes that the government would stick its neck out to save the company.

Opel, a unit of struggling US carmaker General Motors, employs about 25,000 people in Germany and has said it needs 3.3 billion euros in state aid from European governments to save jobs and keep plants open.