Do they mean the Energiewende (the Green renewable “energy turnaround”)?
Oh. They’re only talking about Wirecard. Yeah. That one was pretty cool too. Peanuts compared to the Energiewende fraud, though. But still.
The tech company Wirecard was embraced by the German élite. But a reporter discovered that behind the façade of innovation were lies and links to Russian intelligence.
A German politician’s unfortunate slip twenty years ago, “children instead of Indians,” certainly didn’t work.
Demographics can be a bitch.
Germany aims to ease visa process for India’s IT workers – Berlin wants to encourage information technology experts from India to come and work in Germany. The plan would be to make it easier for them to come to the country with their families.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that his government wants to ease the path for information technology experts from India to obtain work visas in Germany.
While Germany faces a shortfall in skilled worker numbers, India cannot always provide jobs for its large, young population.
Because they’re not the right shade of Green. They’re not European Green, in other words.
They’re more of a Greenback shade of Green. And this makes them Green with envy. Or maybe it’s more like Green about the gills.
German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck was holding talks in Washington on Tuesday focused on the controversial US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which foresees huge investments in green technologies.
A large portion of the Inflation Reduction Act, somewhere in the region of $370 billion (roughly €350 billion at current exchange rates), is earmarked for spending and subsidies designed to support the green transition in the US.
For instance, it includes government incentives for consumers to buy electric vehicles, but only if the vehicles and batteries were produced either in the US or a country with a trade deal with the US.
Thanks to Germany’s clever immigration policy.
The avalanche Angela Merkel set off back in 2015 is finally starting to pay off!
Shortage of engineers, scientists threatens German industry – Germany’s homegrown population is declining, and with it the number of science and engineering students.
German engineering is known worldwide for its quality and innovation. But that brand is under threat. The number of students beginning university degrees in STEM fields — shorthand for science, technology, engineering, and math — fell 6% in just one year, according to a recent study from the nation’s federal statistics agency.
When prices rise, people buy less. Who would have expected that?
German retail sales post surprise plunge in December amid rising prices – German retail sales unexpectedly fell in December as a Christmas shopping period weighed down by high inflation and the energy crisis revived fears of a more marked slowdown in Europe’s largest economy.
Retail sales decreased by 5.3% in December compared with the previous month, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.2% rise in price-adjusted terms.
That means recession fears.
German economy unexpectedly shrinks in Q4, reviving spectre of recession – The German economy unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter, data showed on Monday, a sign that Europe’s largest economy may be entering a much-predicted recession, though likely a shallower one than originally feared.
Gross domestic product decreased 0.2% quarter on quarter in adjusted terms, the federal statistics office said. A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast the economy would stagnate.
That means to slide or to crash.
Deutschland schmiert wirtschaftlich ab – Germany is sliding down the economic slope.
Economically, Germany can no longer keep up with the USA, Scandinavia and Western Europe.
According to a study by the “Stiftung Familienunternehmen” (Family Business Foundation), Germany is slipping dramatically in terms of competitiveness: among 21 industrialized nations, Germany now ranks only 18th!
Germany still exports cars like hotcakes.
But China exports more.
China’s car exports surpass Germany’s after 54.4 per cent surge to 3.11 million in 2022, narrowing Japan’s lead – China has surpassed Germany to become the world’s second-largest car exporter after mainland exports jumped 54.4 per cent year on year to 3.11 million vehicles in 2022, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
What’s not to like?
Oh, yeah. Commercial real estate is taking a dive now too.
German Real Estate Deals Plunged 50% in Fourth Quarter, BNP Says
Germany’s real estate market took a deep hit in the fourth quarter as investors shied away from deals on the back of soaring financing costs.
Total investments in the country’s commercial property sector only reached €9.9 billion ($10.6 billion) in the last three months of 2022, a decline of 50% compared with the five-year average for the period, according to a report released by BNP Paribas’ real estate unit on Monday. The development is largely due to soaring interest rates, a weakening economy and record inflation, it said.
7% may be what the finance minister sees but 11% (at least) is what everybody gets.
Germany’s finance minister sees 2023 inflation at 7% – Germany’s finance minister expects inflation in Europe’s biggest economy to drop to 7% this year and to continue falling in 2024 and beyond, but believes high energy prices will become the new normal.
Observing Hermann 