That means cusp of recession, as in being on it.
Germany on cusp of recession, says ifo, after business sentiment falls – German business morale fell more than expected in July as high energy prices and impending gas shortages push Europe’s largest economy to the cusp of recession, a survey showed on Monday.
The Ifo institute said its business climax index was 88.6, its lowest level in more than two years. June had also seen an unexpected drop to a downwardly revised reading of 92.2.
That means prosperity.
Ukraine war: Germans fear the end of prosperity – The war in Ukraine and inflation have Germans concerned about their standard of living. Those who have the least are likely to suffer the most…
Inflation is running at nearly 8%, compared to the same time last year, according to Germany’s Federal Statistics Office. Consumer energy and food prices are up more than 38% and 11%, respectively.
What a steal. From the taxpayers, as usual. But still.
Germany offers €9-a-month public transport ticket – Cut-price deal allows nationwide travel as Berlin acts to soften the impact of rising inflation and expensive fuel.
The €9 ticket opens up the entirety of Germany to many who couldn’t otherwise afford it. It’s now so easy to scramble up the Harz mountains, stroll through “Frau Holle Land” and drink a few beers on the Ruhr. You could even reenact Inglourius Basterds in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains or find out why Tom Hanks fell in love with Eisenhüttenstadt for yourself.
And show us your real faces.
Faces plagued by real problems, for a change. Problems like finding new sources of energy that will keep your homes heated and your economy running (and breaking free from your dependency on Russian energy = 50%), skyrocketing inflation, dire economic forecasts and that little war thing going on in Ukraine just a few miles down the road, for instance. COVID-19? What’s COVID-19?
Starting Friday, a number of rules and restrictions went away in much of Germany. That means no more masks in most shops, and no more proof of vaccination or day-of test in restaurants. Though some public transportation systems, individual businesses and institutions will keep mask requirements in place, the move to drop the majority of mandates tracks with many of Germany’s neighbors.
Otherwise, though, things are looking up in Germany.
Germany inflation hits 30-year high at 7.3%, growth outlook dims – Inflation in Germany jumped to a record high since reunification in 1990. Growth expectations have been slashed amid fears the Ukraine conflict will hit Europe’s biggest economy hard.
Germans may feel the least free of all Europeans when it comes to the pandemic…
But to compensate for this they pay the highest taxes, have the highest energy and water costs, earn some of the lowest wages, get the lowest retirement pay, fight through the worst bureaucracy, have the most difficult time acquiring property of all Europeans and there’s more of course but I’ll stop here because I’m running out of breath.
Germans ‘feel least free’ of all Europeans during pandemic – Nowhere in Europe have people felt more inhibited by 18 months of Covid-19 restrictions than in Germany, a new study by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) finds.
Just one in ten Germans currently ‘feel free’ in their everyday life, while almost half say that they ‘don’t feel free’, the study published on Wednesday found.
The results put Germany at the bottom of a table of Europeans in 12 EU member states who were asked about their level of freedom now compared to since the pre-pandemic days.
A $256.15 quadrillion zillion stimulus package of their own money taken from them by their government and given back to them as a gift (to be paid back to the government by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren and so on should they ever have any) has lifted German spirits.
Sort of. But just keep smiling through the Coronavirus stimulus party anyway, Germany.
German consumer morale improved less than expected heading into October, a survey showed on Wednesday, putting a damper on hopes that household spending in Europe’s largest economy will be strong enough to drive a quick recovery from the COVID-19 shock.
The GfK institute said its consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of around 2,000 Germans, edged up to -1.6 heading into October from an upwardly revised -1.7 in the previous month.
I know. Let’s introduce an even higher and more unrealistic new level of carbon emission reduction we can’t reach!
Then everybody’s happy. Except those folks who still have to live in the real world.
German industry sceptical of EU’s new 2030 climate goals – The European Commission will present today (17 September) detailed proposals to reduce carbon emissions in the EU by 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. While German industry officially welcomes the new ambitions, it is also clearly sceptical.
The increase of the current target for 2030 by a further 15% would mean a roughly fivefold increase in the efforts of the 27 EU member states, BDI President Dieter Kempf emphasised at the beginning of his speech.
And according to BDI calculations, Germany alone would have to invest €2.3 trillion to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. “You can work out who of the other 26 countries can afford to do this. The level of ambition not only differs greatly within the EU, but also globally,” said Kempf.
Not. Not according to this latest study.
Normally, the per capita economic output (GDP) in capital cities in Europe is higher than in the rest of the given country. There is one big exception, however. Germany would be wealthier without Berlin.
“Poor but sexy” is out. Now Berlin is just poor. Actually, it’s been that way for ages but nobody seems inclined to do anything about it. See the current red-redder-green city government.
Jeder Deutsche wäre ohne Berlin knapp 80 Euro reicher. Every German would be about 80 euros richer without it.
How could their economy be in relatively good shape? They were BAD (compared to head of the class Germany) because they didn’t do that COVID-19 lockdown thing. I don’t understand.
The 18 members of the DAX 30 index of Germany’s biggest firms that have already reported swung from a healthy profit in the second quarter of 2019 to a loss almost as big this year. For many companies, including Volkswagen, a giant carmaker, and BASF, the world’s biggest chemicals concern, results were even worse than analysts had expected. The income of the 27 Swedish firms in Stockholm’s OMX 30 that have reported so far fell by 49%, bad but much better than the DAX. If you include adjusted earnings of two opaque investment vehicles in the OMX, income actually rose…
In public, CEOs of big German companies generally praised their government’s tougher policies. Privately, though, some shared the fears expressed openly by the BVMW, the association of Mittelstand firms that represents 3.5m businesses with up to 250 employees. In an open letter in May the BVMW called on the government to lift the lockdown “before it is too late” and criticised it for lacking an exit strategy.
