Category Archives: Heconomy

German of the day: Rabatt

October 17, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Hi-tech Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means discount.

In this case down from “700% more expensive in the United States than in the rest of the world.”

Trump Strikes Deal With German Merck on Tariffs, IVF Costs – President Donald Trump announced a deal with Germany’s Merck KGaA to cut the price of its fertility medicines in exchange for relief from threatened tariffs, a step toward fulfilling his campaign promise of making IVF less expensive and more widely available in the US…

The discount will slash more than $2,000 from the cost of treatment, said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz.

Stunning and brave

October 13, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

And profitable.

Now that everything in Gaza has been decided by someone else.

German deputy leader signals lifting curbs of arms exports to Israel – Germany’s Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Sunday signalled his government would lift restrictions on supplying weapons to Israel that were announced in August as a rebuke to Israel’s expanding military operations in Gaza.

The remarks by Klingbeil to German broadcaster ARD on Sunday evening suggested a policy shift following the Gaza peace plan, with a ceasefire holding between Israel and Hamas for a third day ahead of a peace summit in Egypt on Monday.

Output kaputt

October 8, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , Leave a comment

To put it nicely.

German industrial output posts biggest decline in more than three years – German industrial output fell much further than expected in August, pushed down by a sharp decrease in car production as frontloaded demand ahead of U.S. tariffs dried up.

Industrial production fell by 4.3% compared with the previous month, the federal statistics office said on Wednesday, the biggest fall since March 2022, just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 1.0% fall.

Deregulate through more regulation

September 26, 2025 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

It’s the German way.

If you want to properly deregulate, create a new deregulation bureaucracy first. We don’t want anybody to get fired or anything.

Germany’s new deregulation chief vows to be more subtle than Elon Musk – State modernisation minister Karsten Wildberger promises to bring about digital age in country clinging to fax machines.

Growth driver now just backseat driver…

September 20, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Who doesn’t know what he’s driving at.

Germany was billed as Europe’s growth driver. Now economists are saying: Not so fast – Huge investment pledges and major fiscal changes had bolstered hopes that Germany could give the euro zone economy a much-needed boost, but economists are starting to question if — and when — that will happen.

“The actual spending is slower than many of the more excitable pundits had expected. In Germany, it takes time to spend money.”

What’s a little power gap here and there…

September 4, 2025 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

As long as you can say you have the highest energy costs in Europe?

Or is it the highest energy costs in the world? I forget. Go, Greens!

Germany could see power supply gap in 2030, regulator says – Germany’s Federal Network Agency on Wednesday warned that rare electricity shortfalls could occur as early as 2030 if the country’s energy transition stalls, though supply is otherwise expected to remain secure through 2035.

The Security of Supply Report, approved by the federal cabinet on Wednesday, highlights the risks should renewable expansion slow, new gas-fired power plants fail to materialize, and electricity demand not become sufficiently flexible.

German of the day: Abbau

August 27, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means reduction, to dismantle or cut.

German car industry sheds 51,500 jobs in a year – The dip equates to almost 7% of the total workforce in the German auto sector. Faltering exports to China and the US play a role, as new tariffs raise barriers to entry in both these core markets.

“The US and China are currently the cause of major concerns.”

Why should your welfare state be any different than the others?

August 25, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

They all run out of other people’s money eventually.

German welfare state ‘can no longer be financed’ — Merz. The German chancellor has called for a welfare reform, putting him on course for a possible clash with the SPD.

“The welfare state that we have today can no longer be financed with what we produce in the economy,” Merz said in the town of Osnabrück.

The coalition partners had already agreed to reforming the social insurance system, which covers health insurance, pensions and unemployment benefits, due to rising costs and gaps in the federal budget.

The chancellor acknowledged that making cuts to social welfare would not be easy for the center-left SPD, but called for the two parties to work together.