Proceedings began Thursday in a 320 million-euro (461 million-dollar) damages case filed by investors at Germany's Hypo Real Estate (HRE) who claim they were not properly warned of dangers that led to heavy losses in the company's stock value, according to dpa. It is the largest compensation case filed to date against the company. The plaintiffs argue that HRE had not correctly informed them about the bank's financial situation. Investors suffered heavy losses when HRE shares plummeted on the German DAX stock exchange in January 2008. The hearing, in Munich, is expected to last into the autumn. In a parallel development, German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg proposed a draft law forcing ailing banks to accept state control.
