Germany approves nuclear waste deal

The German cabinet approved a deal yesterday for its top utilities to start paying into a 23.6-billion-euro fund next year in return for shifting liability for nuclear waste storage to the government, a source said.

The agreement removes uncertainty about the costs of storing interim and final waste and gives investors greater clarity over the future finances of E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall [VATN.UL].

The utilities will remain responsible for dismantling the country's nuclear plants, the last of which will be shut down in 2022 as part of Germany's abandonment of the technology, a decision triggered by Japan's Fukushima disaster five years ago.

(Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Caroline Copley; Editing by Joseph Nasr; from reuters.com)