Category Archives: Heconomy

German Of The Day: Schrumpfen

June 28, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means to shrink.

You know. As in the Sick Man of Europe? The Incredible Shrinking (or was it Sinking) Country?

German Economy Shrinks Faster Than Expected – It’s a rare thing to happen, but Germany now looks like the sick man of Europe, a phrase previously often used to describe Britain.

The health of the business sector dropped significantly in June, according to recent data. The Ifo Business Climate index for Germany, which measures the health of the commercial sector, registered 88.5 in June, down from 91.5 in May. Higher numbers show economic strength, whereas lower ones show a weakening of the economy.

Speaking of sinking…

This Guy I Know Stopped Paying His Mortgage

June 25, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy Tags: , , , Leave a comment

It was right after he broke up with his fiancée.

I asked him why? He said he did it foreclosure.

German house prices fall by record 6.8% as higher mortgage costs deter buyers – First-quarter drop in Europe’s largest property market is biggest since index began in 2000.

Save The Planet

June 21, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Leave the country.

It’s the only Green thing to do.

German energy prices are so high they’re driving companies to relocate, industry body says…

In May, the German government revealed plans to set aside around 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) each year to subsidize electricity prices for energy-intensive industries, in an attempt to shield businesses from high electricity prices.

“A lot of family-owned companies … have very operational plans to relocate.”

Journalists Have Been Automated Consensus Machines (Robots) For Years

June 20, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Why should editors get off the hook?

German tabloid Bild to replace range of editorial jobs with AI – Hundreds of redundancies expected as Axel Springer tells staff certain roles will ‘no longer exist as they do today.’

Germany’s Bild tabloid, the biggest-selling newspaper in Europe, is to replace a range of editorial jobs with artificial intelligence as part of a €100m costcutting programme expected to lead to hundreds of redundancies.

The newspaper would “unfortunately be parting ways with colleagues who have tasks that in the digital world are performed by AI and/or automated processes”, its owner, Europe’s largest media publisher, Axel Springer SE, said in an email to staff.

German Consumers Are An Odd Lot

June 6, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

They have this annoying tendency to not spend money they don’t have.

It has to do with something they call “debt.” Whatever that is.

Analysis: Spend the recession away? Not the thrifty Germans – A drop-off in spending by inflation-hit consumers was one of the main reasons Germany fell into recession in the first quarter, even as other countries in the region managed to avoid it.

What’s more, even with inflation starting to ease across Europe, the signs are that Germany’s famously thrifty shoppers are not ready to spend their way out of recession – meaning the region’s largest economy will have to look elsewhere for growth.

German Of The Day: Einbrechen

May 24, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means to collapse.

You know. Like how Germany’s export numbers to China have collapsed?

Big drop in German exports to China raises fears over EU’s economic powerhouse – Decrease in demand from Asia’s largest economy sparks concern over how Berlin can fix industrial malaise.

A double-digit drop in German exports to China has rattled Europe’s biggest economy, triggering debate over why its vast manufacturing sector has fallen behind rivals benefiting from a rebound in Chinese demand.

The 11.3 per cent drop in German exports to China in the first four months of the year, compared with the same period a year ago, highlights a unique set of challenges for Europe’s industrial powerhouse, economists say. Carmakers are losing market share in China, chemical producers and other energy-intensive companies are reeling from high power prices, and the euro’s appreciation against the dollar has made German goods less competitive.

German Of The Day: Hiobsbotschaft

May 9, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Literally, “Job of the Bible’s message.” Bad news, in other words. Evil tidings.

HIOBSBOTSCHAFT FOR GERMAN ECONOMY: Industrial Production Surprisingly Down Sharply.

Germany’s Industrial Plunge Revives Winter Recession Fears – German industrial production sank by the most in a year — raising the risk that Europe’s largest economy slipped into a winter recession.

Output dropped 3.4% in March, more than the 1.5% decline economists had predicted in a Bloomberg survey. The decrease was especially pronounced in the automotive sector, according to the statistics office.

German Of The Day: Selbstversorgung

April 30, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means self-sufficiency.

The Big Dig: Germany reopens its mines in quest for mineral self-sufficiency – Berlin wants to reduce its dependence on China by extracting more critical raw materials, such as fluorspar, at home.

“If we really want a revolution in transport and the resources needed for that, there’s no way around this project.”

Boost Your Defense Industry

April 7, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Not your defense.

That’s how it’s always been in today’s Germany. Search here (in the upper left) for “beautiful German weapon sale” to get just a few examples.

Thanks to Putin, Business Is Booming for Germany’s Defense Contractors – As governments rearm in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the German arms industry is a prime beneficiary, and that’s making some of the public uncomfortable.

PS: Happy Good Friday to that.

German Of The Day: Schicht

April 5, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means shift. As in shift work.

Tesla is reportedly looking to add a fourth production shift at Giga Berlin in Germany to double production in hopes of meeting a manufacturing rate of 500,000 vehicles annually.

Tesla has already ramped up its third shift, which helped the automaker obtain a weekly production volume of 5,000 vehicles per week, it confirmed in late March.

Managing Director Jochem Freyer from the employment agency in Frankfurt confirmed to rbb24 that Tesla has filled all of its openings for the third shift, and now the company is considering a fourth shift, which could help the company double its production output from 5,000 vehicles per week to 10,000.