Volume of eight billion euros Immediate climate program decided

Status: 23.06.2021 12:01 p.m.

The federal cabinet has launched an emergency program for climate protection. The program has a volume of eight billion euros – the promotion of energy-efficient buildings is the largest item. The federal government has decided on a so-called immediate program for climate protection worth a good eight billion euros. The program is part of the federal budget for 2022, presented by Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. The climate finance plan is intended to help promote the switch to climate-friendly technologies and to achieve the federal government’s new climate targets.

Largest amount for energy-efficient buildings

The package of measures includes around three dozen funding programs for investments, for example in the building, energy and transport sectors, most of which will be allocated to the years 2022 and 2023. With 4.5 billion euros in the next two years, the largest sum is to go into promoting energy-efficient buildings. A total of one billion euros will also be earmarked for climate-friendly social housing in the coming years; 150 million euros should be available for this in 2022. The plan also includes the plan to raise the minimum energy standards for new buildings.

Hundreds of millions for climate protection contracts

The federal government intends to provide another larger amount – 650.2 million euros – for climate protection agreements with industry. These contracts are state funding programs that are intended to offset the additional costs for climate-friendly production, for example for the use of green hydrogen. The steel industry is to receive 100 million euros for converting its blast furnaces to hydrogen-based production processes. The total funding for industry amounts to 860 million euros. There are also more than a billion more for traffic. For example, more than 300 million euros have been budgeted for the expansion of the cycling infrastructure.

Scholz speaks of “money well invested”

After the cabinet decision, the Federal Finance Minister spoke of a “clear signal”: Germany should “become a pioneer in climate protection”. He praised the plan as “money well spent”. Man-made climate change is “the greatest challenge of our time”, continued Scholz.

In the past two years, the federal government had already invested more than 80 billion euros in climate protection projects. The financial plan that has now been adopted is a template for the coming legislative period. Only then can the Bundestag deal with it again within the framework of budget deliberations and adopt the program

Draft budget of the federal government Cabinet approves of high New debt

Status: 23.06.2021 12:18 p.m.

The federal government will also take on massive debts in the coming year. The cabinet approved the draft budget, which provides for new borrowing of almost 100 billion euros for 2022. The debt brake will be suspended again for this. The federal cabinet has approved the government draft for the federal budget for 2022. Once again, the approved budget is shaped by the consequences of the Corona crisis. According to the draft, the federal government wants to incur more new debts in the coming year than previously planned. A net borrowing of 99.7 billion euros is planned, as can be seen from a cabinet proposal. The high level of new borrowing is justified with additional spending as a result of the corona pandemic, for example for corporate aid and to stabilize social contributions.

Debts grow to 470 billion euros

In the benchmarks presented in March, the Ministry of Finance had expected a net borrowing of 81.5 billion euros for 2022. Tax revenues remain below pre-crisis levels. This would mean that the mountain of debt accumulated by the corona pandemic between 2020 and 2022 would grow to around 470 billion euros. However, there are now plans to increase spending on climate protection and health, for example. The federal government had already taken on billions in new debts in 2020 and 2021. The budget plans are, so to speak, subject to change, because the new Bundestag elected in autumn has to pass the budget. There could therefore still be significant changes.

Debt brake suspended again

According to the draft, the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law will also be suspended in the coming year against the background of the Corona crisis. It stipulates that the federal government may only take out new loans to a very small extent – a maximum of 0.35 percent of economic output. According to the draft, the federal government no longer wants to make use of the exemption from 2023. In the afternoon, Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz wants to present his budget plan

Growing industry Billion dollar business with environmental protection

Status: 23.06.2021 10:45 a.m.

Environmental protection is increasingly becoming an economic factor, especially in manufacturing. According to the Federal Statistical Office, sales are increasing and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created in Germany. Environmental and climate protection are increasingly proving to be a lucrative business for industry and service providers. As the Federal Statistical Office announced, the industry achieved sales of 73.6 billion euros in 2019, 3.1 percent more than in the previous year.

Three quarters of this was achieved in the manufacturing sector, first and foremost in mechanical engineering (22.1 billion euros), followed by electrical equipment (6.5 billion euros) and the manufacture of cars, trucks and buses – and parts for them (5.8 billion euros) Euro).

The construction and maintenance of apparatus for air pollution control has grown particularly strongly. Here sales climbed by more than a third to 10.5 billion euros. These were mainly products for exhaust gas and exhaust air treatment, such as catalytic converters. In the area of ​​electromobility (limited to cars, trucks and buses), sales of 2.5 billion euros were reported in 2019, 24 percent more than a year earlier.

Over 300,000 employees

Energy-saving drive and control technology, the construction of onshore wind turbines, the thermal insulation of buildings, and the renovation and construction of sewer systems also ensured business worth billions.

The growing importance of environmental protection for the German economy is also leading to the creation of new jobs, so-called “green jobs”. The number of employees who contributed goods or services to the industry was 305,000 in 2019. Compared to the previous year, the number rose by almost 16,000. More than two thirds of the employees in the sector were employed in manufacturing companies

Train drivers union GDL resolves industrial action at the railway

Status: 23.06.2021 12:54 p.m.

With the beginning of the summer holidays in some federal states, rail passengers have to be prepared for strikes. The train drivers’ union GDL decided a labor dispute. The GDL intends to announce tomorrow exactly how it should look. At Deutsche Bahn, train driver strikes in the middle of the holiday season are getting closer. The union of German locomotive drivers (GDL) decided on concrete industrial action after failed negotiations with the employers’ association Move. GDL boss Claus Weselsky will not announce the exact scope and time of possible work stoppages until Thursday at a press conference in Berlin. According to the GDL, the corresponding committee resolutions are available. A railway spokeswoman asked the union to return to the negotiating table. There are well-founded offers for more wages and additional protection against dismissal on the table, about which the GDL top has so far refused serious negotiations.

First warning strike since December 2018

Immediately before the start of the school holidays in several federal states, the union is increasing the pressure on the management of the railway. The GDL declared the negotiations to have failed last Tuesday. It is the first warning strike on the railways since December 2018, when the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) called on its members to take part in a labor dispute. Both unions are fighting with each other for influence in the state company. The EVG had already reached a collective agreement last autumn. From the beginning of 2022, employees will receive 1.5 percent more money – little compared to collective bargaining rounds in better times. Compulsory redundancies are excluded until the end of 2023.

GDL wants more

The GDL wants to get more out of money and working hours. Both sides had moved somewhat towards each other before the failure of the negotiations. Based on the collective bargaining agreement for the public service, the GDL is calling for an income increase of 1.4 percent plus a corona bonus this year and a further 1.8 percent next year. The employees deserved more than compensation for the price increase, argues Weselsky.

According to its own statements, Deutsche Bahn had proposed increases in incomes as in the public sector, but in relation to the airport sector. An “emergency collective agreement” had been concluded for airports because of the slump in traffic. The 1.4 percent increase in income there will only be in October 2022, the other 1.8 percent not until April 2023. Employers will also have the option of reducing working hours by six percent in 2022. The level of the collective agreement for the public service is to be reached in October 2023

Rising US prices Fed chief is dampening Inflation concerns

Status: 23.06.2021 9:39 a.m.

The head of the US Federal Reserve sees the reason for the current high inflation primarily in the recovery of the economy. The unexpectedly strong effects would soon fade, Powell said.

By Torsten Teichmann, ARD studio Washington

The demand in many industries is greater than the supply, meanwhile the prices for raw materials in the USA are rising, employers are having difficulties filling positions: All these effects of the economic upswing at the end of the corona pandemic are stronger than assumed, the head of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, granted. Nevertheless, there will be no inflation, as in the 1970s, Powell said at a hearing in the US House of Representatives. “These factors will fade over time and we will get back to where we want to go. We are watching this carefully,” he said.

Interest rate hikes planned for 2023

The goal is an inflation rate of just over two percent. In May there was inflation at five percent . The Fed announced last week by the end of 2023, the key interest rate is expected to be increased in two steps to want. But in the short term it remains in the range between 0 and 0.25 percent. Powell had to defend his monetary policy at the hearing in the House of Representatives. Republican MP Steve Scalise accused a visibly annoyed Fed chief that the cheap money policy was harmful to hard-working families.

Steve Scalise criticized Fed policies as harmful to families. Image: REUTERS

Powell replied that lower income groups in particular have not yet benefited from the upswing in the United States. “Real incomes at the lower end of the spectrum are stagnating compared to those at the top,” he said. “Mobility across all income groups has decreased in the US and is now behind that in most other industrialized countries.”

Fed expects economic growth of 6.5 percent

These differences would hold back the US economy and the country as a whole. And that although the Fed is currently assuming that the US economy will grow by 6.5 percent this year with the help of the government’s trillion-dollar stimulus packages

Heil is promoting training bonuses There should be no “Corona vintage”

Status: 06/22/2021 05:07

The second year of training since the beginning of the corona pandemic begins in September. The federal government supports training companies with training bonuses, but Labor Minister Heil is still worried about a corona kink on the apprenticeship market. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil sees the German training market facing a critical phase after months of the pandemic. The number of apprenticeships like applicants had already decreased last year, said the minister. Figures from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training prove this. The test comes this summer, “Heil told the Funke media group. “We are currently fighting the clock as the training year begins on September 1st.” It is clear: “We are not allowed to allow a Corona class in training.”

6000 euros bonus per apprenticeship position

Many companies were hesitant at the moment because they believed they could not afford apprentices at the moment. Heil called on companies to make greater use of state support offers such as the training bonus. The bonus has been approved for almost 40,000 training positions since last summer.

Heil pointed out that the new protective umbrella for training has been in place since the beginning of June. The premium was also doubled in March. Companies affected by a pandemic that keep their training quota have been receiving EUR 4,000 per apprenticeship position since the beginning of June, and EUR 6,000 for new trainee positions.

According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, the program has a total volume of 410 million euros for the current year. By mid-June, around 88 million euros, almost a fifth, had been paid out

Competition authority Antitrust Office targets Apple

As of: June 21, 2021 2:46 p.m.

The Federal Cartel Office is now also investigating Apple. Above all, the US group’s business conduct in the App Store wants to investigate. Similar proceedings are in progress against other large tech companies. The Federal Cartel Office initiates investigations against the technology group Apple. The authority wants to find out whether the US group with parts of its business a “cross-market importance” has in competition. Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said: “We will now examine whether Apple has built a digital ecosystem across several markets around the iPhone with the proprietary iOS operating system.” After all, the US group also produces tablets, computers, headphones and watches and sells them at the same time “a range of device-related services and services”. The Group’s Services division includes the App Store, iCloud, technical support at AppleCare, the Apple Music music service, the range of games in front of Apple Arcade, the Apple TV + streaming service and other services.

EU sees unfair competition

During its investigation, the Cartel Office will also examine Apple’s technical and financial resources as well as access to data, according to Mundt. One focus of the investigation will be on the operation of the app store, as this enables the group in many cases to influence the business activities of third parties.

Apple’s app store system is already being investigated by the EU Commission, which accuses the group of unfair competition with other providers of music streaming services. Among other things, it is controversial that 15 to 30 percent of the digital revenues in the App Store go to Apple. “We look forward to discussing our approach with the Federal Cartel Office and engaging in an open dialogue about any concerns”it said in a response from Apple. The group is “proud to be an engine for innovation and jobs”. The iOS platform alone supports more than 250,000 workplaces in Germany.

Cartel office can intervene earlier

The background to the investigation is a reform of the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) in January. A central component is the modernization of abuse control. The supervisory authorities can now intervene earlier in the event of suspected violations by large digital corporations and prohibit anti-competitive practices.

This also makes it easier for the Cartel Office to take action against large digital companies that are important to competition across borders between different market areas. This has already had consequences: the last time the Bonn authority was against the online network Facebook and in May against the mail order company Amazon and against the internet company Google Investigation started.

According to the cartel office, an expansion of the investigation against Apple is imminent. The authority intends to “to take a closer look at Apple’s specific behavior in a possible further procedure”. The Office has received various complaints against potentially anti-competitive practices

Free corona tests Pharmacies want to reduce supply

Status: 06/20/2021 07:22 a.m.

In view of falling demand and less money from the federal government, many pharmacies want to reduce their range of corona rapid tests. The implementation is no longer economical. Due to the falling demand for corona tests, Germany’s pharmacies want to limit their range. Since the number of fully vaccinated is increasing and infection protection rules have been relaxed, the need for tests is decreasing, said a spokesman for the Abda pharmacists’ association. He also pointed out that the federal government pays less than before. “This means that it is no longer economical to carry out the tests for a number of pharmacies.” The test offer will therefore probably get smaller step by step. Alongside private companies and state institutions, pharmacies are among the most important test center operators. According to Abda estimates, around 20 to 25 percent of pharmacies offer so-called citizen tests – that is, rapid tests that are free for consumers and paid for by the federal government.

Less money for tests

Originally, the pharmacies, like all other providers, received up to 18 euros per antigen test carried out, now the federal government only pays up to 12.50 euros. In the corona pandemic, spring tests were key to ensuring that people with a negative result could visit restaurants or shops.

However, the number of infections is now so low that loosening takes effect and a visit to a restaurant or shopping is permitted even without a test result. In addition, fully vaccinated people are exempt from test requirements.

Fewer and fewer rapid tests

Figures from the NRW Ministry of Health show how much demand is falling. Last Thursday there were 306,000 rapid antigen tests via the test centers in the state. Of those, 216 were positive – a percentage of 0.07 percent. A week earlier there were 498,000 tests in one day (positive: 0.08 percent); a month ago it was 594,000 (positive: 0.23 percent). The number of test sites in North Rhine-Westphalia was recently stable at 9236 – it will probably decrease in the future.

The Association of the Diagnostics Industry, which represents manufacturers of tests, assumes that the demand for antigen tests in the test centers will drop significantly in the summer. The manufacturers will “of course adjust to a permanently falling demand,” said an association spokeswoman. But they are working on tests that could detect both influenza and coronavirus disease. Such tests could help in the fall, should there be a flu wave and the number of corona infections rise again.

Corona crisis Further help for business in sight

Status: 06/18/2021 5:51 p.m.

The states are urging to continue Corona aid for companies until the end of the year – Federal Minister of Economics Altmaier indicated readiness. Support for domestic exporters has already been extended. There are signs of an extension of the corona aid for companies that have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. The economics ministers of the federal states demanded that the funds previously planned until the end of September be continued until the end of the year. The federal government pays the previous “Bridging Aid III”.

Extension after the summer break if necessary

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) made it clear after a meeting with his country ministerial colleagues that he is not averse to an extension. One will look at the situation and, if necessary, extend the help after the summer break. The corona aid only applies to companies that can demonstrate a sharp drop in sales and can trace them back to the pandemic. As the economy is currently picking up again and more business is being done again, the number of companies eligible to apply is falling.

Altmaier: So far, 105 billion euros have been transferred

So far, a total of 105 billion euros have been transferred to companies as corona aid, said Altmaier. Roughly half of these are loans and half are grants that do not have to be repaid. In addition, there is money from the federal states. According to Altmaier, the state support has paid off: “Together we managed to prevent a loss of substance in the German economy.”

Against the background of the lower number of infections and the lifting of restrictions, Altmaier said the economy was “coming to a new start faster than many feared”. Growth is picking up – this year it will be 3.5 to 4 percent and in 2022 it will be more than 4 percent. The economy will have reached pre-crisis levels by spring 2022 at the latest. “That means, we are hopefully out of the worst,” said the CDU politician. When the bridging aid, which ran until the end of June, was extended by three months as “bridging aid III plus”, he was in any case in favor of continuing it until the end of the year.

Aid to exporters continues

Meanwhile, the corona aid for domestic exporters has already been extended until the end of the year. They were decided in July 2020 and should actually end this month. “Even if the economic situation has improved significantly in the past few months, the corona pandemic continues to pose challenges for the export industry,” the Ministry of Economics justified the decision. “Some companies are only now feeling the stresses with a delay.”

“Security signal” to the economy

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Andreas Pinkwart, spoke out in favor of continuing to support sectors such as the trade fair industry. After all, they would “presumably not yet be able to work in the fourth quarter in the way they normally would at normal times”. In addition, the FDP politician considers the extension of the bridging aid to be a good precaution for possible rising incidences in autumn. Then you would “not have to put on a new program from the hip”, but would have already been prepared. Saarland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Anke Rehlinger, considers the prospect of the extension of the aid to be “a protective signal” to the economy. “We have to take care of the industries that are still suffering from the pandemic.” She stressed that the time should be used to prepare for all eventualities in autumn and winter. Should one be forced to make restrictions again because of the pandemic, there could be “other, smarter measures” that would take into account aspects such as a high vaccination rate.

Situation in trade fair industry “catastrophic”

The corona pandemic hit large parts of the German economy hard. In the meantime, things are looking a little better again, also because restrictions have been relaxed and restaurants and cafes are open again, for example. However, the situation in some sectors such as the trade fair industry is still very tense.

Jörn Holtmeier, managing director of the trade fair association AUMA, described the situation in his branch as “catastrophic”. The first industry get-togethers would take place again in September, but the number of trade fairs until the end of the year was clear. There have been many rejections. “If a stand builder finally gets another order for his first trade fair in November or December, but then does not receive any more money from the state in October, this can extremely worsen the already tense financial situation of his company.” Then company bankruptcies are possible. It is mainly about stand builders, caterers and private trade fair organizers. Exhibition companies that belong to municipalities and the state are not entitled to federal corona aid.

Around 231,000 employees

Holtmeier is also in favor of extending the aid until the end of the year. This was just a safety net, he said. “Some companies will get orders again beforehand and make sales, they will not have to use the help.”

According to AUMA, Germany’s trade fair industry has around 231,000 employees. This not only includes organizers and stand builders, but also companies with a strong trade fair business – a hotel, for example, which does most of its business with trade fair visitors, is proportionately included in the number of employees. Since March 2020, according to the Ifo Institute, the crisis in the trade fair industry has led to economic damage of an estimated 40 billion euros: Dealers could no longer buy anything at the industry get-togethers, and there were no more visitors who would spend money on restaurant visits, hotel stays or taxi rides

Less CO2 through power plants EUEmissions trading paying off

Status: 06/17/2021 3:36 p.m.

The European emissions trading system had an impact last year. According to figures from the Federal Environment Agency, CO2 emissions in Germany’s power plants have fallen sharply. It looks different with industry.

From Martin Polansky, ARD capital studio

The German power plants emitted 15 percent less CO2 last year than in 2019. Coal power plants in particular were shut down. The energy sector and industry in this country have reduced their CO2 emissions by 33 percent since 2013. This is shown by current figures presented by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA).

According to the head of the German Emissions Trading Authority at UBA, Jürgen Landgrebe, European emissions trading has proven its worth. “The greenhouse gas emissions of the plants in Germany have fallen significantly.” Since 2018, the EU has decided to significantly strengthen its ambitions in European emissions trading. “And as a result, the markets reacted immediately,” said Landgrebe.

Significant price increases since 2018

Emissions trading is seen as a market-based instrument to reduce CO2 emissions. The system has existed since 2005. It ensures that around 1,800 power plants and industrial companies in Germany require emission certificates in order to be allowed to emit CO2.

The certificates are traded. The number of these decreases annually, which means that their price increases gradually. As a result, CO2 emissions are also becoming more and more expensive. While the certificate price was quite low for a long time, it has increased significantly since 2018 – to more than 50 euros per ton of CO2.

Gas-fired power plants and renewable energy systems have benefited from this, said the head of the emissions trading office. Last year, more than 45 percent of the gross electricity consumption in Germany was covered by renewable energies. “The aim is for us to price fossil fuels heavily so that renewable energies also become competitive more quickly,” said Landgrebe.

Weak effects in industry

Many market observers assume that emissions trading could lead to the shutdown of coal-fired power plants in this country much earlier than 2038. This end date was agreed a good two years ago in the so-called coal compromise between industry, environmental associations and trade unions. The federal government had largely adopted the compromise in the coal exit law. In industry, however, the effect of emissions trading has so far been less pronounced. Emissions have only fallen by around eight percent since 2013 – also due to the corona pandemic. In many cases there is a lack of marketable alternatives, for example for chemical plants or the steel industry. The latter is to switch from coke to hydrogen in the long term.

Help for retrofitting

The head of the German Emissions Trading Authority advocated increasing the pressure on industry. Fewer CO2 certificates should soon be issued. In addition, public aid is available for retrofitting. Landgrebe referred to the European innovation fund, which will provide approximately 20 billion euros for corresponding investments.

“The national decarbonisation fund is also providing around two billion euros to strongly promote such technologies and bring them to market readiness,” said Landgrebe.

Special taxes on industrial imports?

The steel industry and other sectors fear that European companies could suffer competitive disadvantages if the pressure to switch becomes too strong. The argument goes that climate protection does not benefit from steel coming more from India or China in the future.

In the European Union there are therefore considerations to impose special taxes on industrial imports from regions of the world with low climate standards in order to protect domestic industry. The EU Commission wants to present plans in July on how emissions trading can be used even more. On the one hand, consideration is being given to lowering the CO2 cap more quickly in order to meet the more ambitious European climate targets. On the other hand, certificate trading could be expanded to the areas of transport and buildings.

Surcharge at the gas station

In Germany, there has been a national CO2 pricing for fuel, heating oil and natural gas since the beginning of the year. However, this system is currently not based on a fixed CO2 cap, which is gradually being lowered, but on a price surcharge, for example at the petrol station – in the hope that people will use less fuel.

Similar to the issue of phasing out coal, European emissions trading could in the long run make the special national regulations superfluous in this country – if it proves to be the more efficient and market-compliant system for reducing CO2 emissions

background

Corona consequences for companies How much longer does the state have to help?

Status: 06/17/2021 10:18 a.m.

Today, the federal and state economics ministers are discussing how to proceed with corona aid for companies. Warnings against a permanent state economy are getting louder. But some industries are still deeply in crisis.

From Axel John, SWR

Tim Sandrock walks through the 3500 square meter hall of his event company. He points to huge loudspeakers, lighting systems or projectors that are piled up to the ceiling. “That would normally all be used outside in mid-June, at theater events, village festivals or music concerts”says Sandrock. “The camp could be swept through completely. We haven’t moved the technology for at least 15 months.”

He is one of the two managing directors of Flo-Service GmbH in Mainz. The company has 25 employees and six trainees. The company organizes up to 1500 events per year with a focus on the Rhine-Main area. “From the disco ball for the teenage party to the stage technology for a Sting concert, we cover everything”says Sandrock. Although the economy is taking off again across the country, Flo-Service still has few orders at major events due to the pandemic requirements. Most recently, among other things, the Oktoberfest was canceled. This sends a devastating signal to the industry.

Hope for further help

“We are broadly positioned and have thus been able to limit losses. The Federal Employment Agency helped us a lot through short-time work with around 31,000 euros per month. The bridging aids were also extremely important to us last year”says Sandrock. “However, our company has fixed costs of 150,000 euros every month.”

“I very much hope for further government aid” – Flo Service Managing Director Tim Sandrock. Image: Axel John, SWR

Flo-Service mainly draws on its operating reserves before Corona. In addition, there was a tough austerity course. Overall, sales have decreased by a good third. This means that Sandrock is still in a brilliant position in the industry. Other companies make a minus of 90 percent or are no longer there. “In the long run, of course, you can’t finance a company like ours. I therefore very much hope for further state aid”, he says. Cultural events have a pre-planning of three to nine months. In the uncertain Corona time, that’s half an eternity. “I am optimistic that the worst is behind us. But we still need support for a transition period. Otherwise all previous payments would be pointless”, says Sandrock.

Economics ministers discuss further aid

The federal and state economics ministers meet today in Düsseldorf – for the first time in attendance. One question is: what will happen next with the support for the economy? The bridging allowance and short-time work allowance were only recently extended to the end of September and even expanded. Now it is about a renewed extension until the end of the year.

The host of the meeting, the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Economic Affairs Andreas Pinkwart from the FDP, has already made a decision: “I am in favor of the aid being extended beyond the end of September until the end of the year”, he says. “Sectors such as the trade fair and event industry or the showmen will continue to suffer from a drop in sales in the fall. The Federal Ministry of Economics also sees it that way. I would also like to advocate this course at the federal government.”

NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Pinkwart is campaigning for a further extension of the corona aid. Image: dpa

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Economic Affairs also refers to legal constraints. “Unfortunately, to fight the pandemic, we had to restrict the freedom of trade. That is why the bridging aid is not subsidy, but compensation. Parts of the economy are only now gradually returning to normal”says Pinkwart. Now it is a matter of creating transitions for the companies concerned.

Share of businesses in need is falling

More and more companies seem to manage this transition. According to a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), only eight percent of all companies saw their existence threatened by May. In April this value was still 13 percent. “The incidence values ​​are easing in many places, and at the same time private-sector companies in Germany are looking more optimistically into the future, “says IAB Director Bernd Fitzenberger. So far, the Federal Ministry of Economics has approved a total of more than 105 billion euros for the economy during the crisis. In addition, there is short-time work allowance of around 32.3 billion euros.

Criticism from economists

More and more economists are critical of the ongoing political assistance. Lars Feld is one of them. The 54-year-old economist is a proven regulatory politician, i.e. oriented towards the principles of market and competition. “The extension until the end of September is fine. But I do not believe in a renewed extension”, he says. “The upswing is in full swing. According to the Bundesbank, we will have growth of 3.7 percent in Germany this year. Next year it should be five percent. The need for an expansive fiscal policy that continues to be so strong is therefore decreasing.”

In addition, there are always deadweight effects at companies that find themselves in a difficult situation without this having anything to do with Corona. However, Feld limits his analysis with a view to the event industry. “If the state restricts certain companies in certain sectors of the constitutionally granted freedom of trade, then this must be compensated. But we will have to live with Corona in the long term. Therefore, I think it is questionable whether the events industry can continue as it did before the pandemic.”

Digital structural change also in the event area

Tim Sandrock in Mainz knows that too. In order to survive economically, Flo-Service had already digitized itself during the lockdown. “We have brought our analog offers into the digital space. Instead of a meeting with a projector, screen or interpreting service, we now also offer complete software solutions”says Sandrock. Corona has massively accelerated development. “There will be a growing digital share at events of all kinds in the future.”

In order not to complicate this structural change, Sandrock is also in favor of a foreseeable phase out of the aid. For the next few months, however, the company needs government aid again. If politicians decide in favor of renewed extension, Sandrock will submit an application. “But I am sure that the industry will recover quickly after Corona. I’m also counting on a catch-up effect. Man is a sociable being. That’s why we’ll be back.”

Business support Only a few corona aid accessed

Status: 06/17/2021 10:08 a.m.

The federal government had made available 150 billion euros for companies as corona aid in grant programs – according to the Ifo Institute, just 24 percent of this was accessed. Companies in Germany have so far called on much less Corona aid than planned by the federal government. “Only a fraction of the budgeted aid was paid out to the companies affected by the corona pandemic,” said Selina Schulze-Spüntrup, researcher at the Ifo Institute. “That also has to do with the fact that some of the eligibility requirements were formulated quite strictly to rule out abuse.” According to the information, the federal government provided 150 billion euros in grant programs. Of this, 24 percent have so far been accessed. For emergency aid from the federal government, 50 billion euros were estimated, according to Ifo, less than a third of it was used.

Bridging aids were also not exhausted

In the case of the subsequent bridging aid, too, the money paid out was well below the budgeted amount: According to economic researchers, it was 6 percent for bridging aid I, around 10 percent for bridging aid II, and a good 28 percent for bridging aid III.

56 percent of the available funds were paid out of the November aid, 33 percent of the December aid. The state-owned KfW Bank has so far pledged 46 billion euros from its special program.

Exclusive

Housing market Tax tricks with Interest settlements

Status: 06/17/2021 10:42 a.m.

Financial investors speculate with billions on the German housing market, but hardly pay taxes – thanks to a legal trick. The federal government wanted to close this loophole. But loud monitor – Research won’t come of it.

By Lutz Polanz and Jan Schmitt, WDR

“Behind this house is an American company, the trail of the owners leads via Luxembourg to the Cayman Islands” , tells Coni Pfeiffer, activist and spokeswoman for the # 200Houses network. Tenants from Berlin have come together to defend themselves against the conversion of their apartments into expensive condominiums and the greed of financial corporations. It is similar with the other houses on the opposite side, explains Pfeiffer. Here the trail of investors leads to tax havens such as Gibraltar or the Virgin Islands. The Berlin real estate market has long since become an Eldorado for major investors who want to remain anonymous. The official owners are companies with names such as Magenta Properties S.à.rl or Berlin Project-1 Property III S.à.rl The names often conceal complex corporate structures with a whole chain of companies. In the end, they lead to well-known tax havens, for example in the Caribbean.

Interest trick to save taxes

The elaborate company structures apparently also serve to avoid paying taxes to the German tax authorities. A completely legal interest trick helps the companies: The parent companies lend money to their subsidiaries who own the houses and land in Germany. In return, they charge them high internal interest rates – much higher than they would otherwise have to pay at banks. The interest payments of the subsidiaries reduce the profit in Germany and thus the taxes that would have to be paid here.

“The profits go to countries in which no tax is levied on interest income”, explains Gerhard Schick, board member of “Citizens’ Movement Finanzwende”. “Thanks to these high interest payments, it is practically possible to push the income abroad, so that in Germany you can tell the tax office that we have actually not earned any money, but that the profit is generated abroad.”

Billions are being lost to the Treasury

“Every year the German state loses five to seven billion euros as a result of the interest rate trick”, adds Christoph Trautvetter from “Network tax justice”.

So far, the tax authorities have been able to do next to nothing about it. There is no corresponding legal regulation. Specialists have been calling for them for years, for example Manfred Naumann, an expert in international tax law and head of department in the Federal Ministry of Finance for many years: “I am frustrated that the legislature and the Federal Ministry of Finance are unable to find such a regulation”, said Naumann in an interview with the ARD -Magazine monitor . For him the state wears one “complicity” because financial resources run into the billions “flow untaxed”. Proposals for such a regulation have long been on the table. Accordingly, the interest rate would always be used as a benchmark at which a group can borrow money from the bank. Demanding higher interest rates internally would only be possible if the group can justify it well. That would be a kind of reversal of the burden of proof, which experts believe would prevent a large part of the tax damage.

Paragraph disappeared

The Federal Ministry of Finance under Olaf Scholz (SPD) had proposed precisely such a new regulation in a draft law. But the CDU / CSU parliamentary group intervened and the corresponding passage was deleted from the draft. The Federal Council then made a new attempt to resume the regulation. But this was also thrown out at the instigation of the Union.

“Braking measures against money laundering, aggressive tax avoidance and tax evasion by the CDU / CSU has a long tradition”, criticizes Sven Giegold from the Greens in the European Parliament. However, he is also surprised that the SPD did not protest against it.

The Union faction wanted to get up monitor -Do not answer the request. The Federal Ministry of Finance, led by Scholz, is now apparently at a distance from its original approach. Corresponding changes “should ideally be coordinated internationally”, it says in a response from the ministry to a request from monitor .

Now the match ball lies with the Federal Council. He wants to decide at the end of June whether to call the mediation committee or wave the law through with the loophole

The sound becomes sharper Fed sees two rate hikes in 2023

Status: 16.06.2021 8:59 p.m.

As expected, the US Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged. However, the loose monetary policy will not go on forever. The stock markets are falling, and the euro is also falling. Despite the waning corona pandemic and rising inflation rates, the US Federal Reserve continues to keep its key interest rate in a range between 0.00 and 0.25 percent. The monthly bond purchases of $ 120 billion are also expected to continue for the time being. At least until progress is made towards achieving the bank’s goals. In particular, this means “considerable progress in terms of price stability and employment”. This was stated by the monetary authorities after their two-day routine interest rate meeting in Washington. According to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, the Fed is still a long way from achieving its goal: “But we are making good progress.” The bank continues to blame temporary factors for the recently stronger rise in inflation data. At the same time, she expects inflation to rise to 3.4 percent this year and drop to 2.2 percent in 2022. There is also increased economic activity and employment. Powell said the discussion about scaling back the extremely loose monetary policy had begun. The point is when it will reduce its regular bond purchases. However, Powell was not specific. Basically, the Fed chief said that if you will, you have talked about wanting to talk about the subject. With such cautious wording Powell should try to avoid panic-like reactions in the financial markets.

Two rate hikes envisaged in 2023

For the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, however, the monetary authorities signaled that there could be two interest rate hikes of half a percentage point each in 2023. So far, the Fed’s interest rate projection provided for an unchanged monetary policy with a key interest rate close to zero. After all, seven monetary authorities are now even of the opinion that a tightening could come next year. Not only has the interest rate forecast been raised, expectations for economic growth and inflation are also higher in some cases. For this year, the Fed is expecting macroeconomic growth of 7.0 percent instead of the 6.5 percent previously expected.

Share prices are falling

Wall Street reacts with price losses, all leading stock indices give way in an initial reaction. The leading index Dow Jones lost around one percent, the other indices are slightly below. Prices are also falling on the bond market, with the yield on ten-year US government bonds increasing to 1.56 percent. The euro is losing significantly against the dollar and is currently trading at 1.2026 dollars, around one cent less than in today’s trading

Balance for 2020 Decline among Germans Arms exports

Status: 16.06.2021 2 p.m.

The federal government approved fewer exports of German armaments last year than in the previous year. For controversial exports to Egypt, however, millions again flowed. German companies that sell armaments abroad need a permit. These are summarized in the annual arms export report, which was the subject of the Federal Cabinet meeting today. Accordingly, significantly less armaments were sold abroad in the corona crisis year 2020 than in the previous year. 2019 was still a record year for the German arms industry: the German government had approved exports of weapons, submarines and tanks worth around eight billion euros. In comparison, the total was significantly lower last year at around 5.8 billion. Of course, the sum also fluctuates because in some years major projects are approved, in others not. Around half of the arms exports approved last year are intended for EU or NATO countries, or for countries that are on an equal footing with them, such as Japan, Switzerland or Australia.

June 16, 2021

Sale to Egypt under fire

More than half of the export licenses went to so-called third countries. Armaments from Germany should actually only go to these states in exceptional cases. Expressed as a sum, the export of goods worth almost three billion euros to such third countries was approved in the past. These include in particular Egypt, which ordered submarines and patrol ships from German shipyards worth around 764 million euros – according to the report by the Federal Ministry of Economics, the highest approved value among exports to third countries last year. Exports to Egypt are criticized by the churches, among others, because of allegations of human rights violations.

07/01/2021

In some war and crisis regions no weapons are delivered, for example Ukraine. The federal government recently had the advance of the Greens leader Robert Habeck refused for the delivery of defensive weapons. Arms control does not distinguish between offensive and defensive weapons.

Decline in exports, growth in imports

According to the Swedish peace research institute SIPRI, Germany is one of the five largest arms exporters in the world. While the sale of German armaments abroad declined in the past year, the Federal Republic increased the import of military equipment by more than five percent in 2020 . Last year, according to SIPRI, Germany invested around 44 billion euros in armaments, making it seventh worldwide. With information from Hans-Joachim Vieweger, ARD capital studio

Digital consumer protection Vulnerabilities in health apps

As of: 16.06.2021 1:53 p.m.

In the corona pandemic, health apps have gained many users. For some, however, there is a lack of data protection. This was the result of a study by the Federal Office for Information Security. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) found numerous security gaps in an investigation of health apps. According to a BSI report, six out of seven thoroughly tested apps transmitted passwords in clear text to authentication services. None of the apps fully met the security requirements of the BSI guidelines for health apps. The BSI did not provide the names of the apps examined.

Exclusive 03/10/2021

Personal data is not adequately protected

“From the point of view of technical IT security, this result must at least be rated as critical, especially in view of the fact that a significant proportion of the apps process sensitive and particularly sensitive data”, criticized the office for taking care of the data security of the federal government. “Because, according to the findings of the study, this does not adequately protect user data against attacks.” The BSI checked the health apps as part of the first report on digital consumer protection 2020, which, due to the corona pandemic, focused on digital health offers.

background 07/11/2019

damage “first of all manageable”

The BSI expert Nicolas Stöcker described the danger for users of the criticized apps when exploiting the identified loopholes as “first of all manageable”. If an attack took place, it would initially only affect a single person. “It would be worse if the backend, where the data is kept, were also insecure.” The authority has a corresponding further investigation for the future “on the screen”, says Stocker. However, BSI President Arne Schönbohm warned that the deficiencies found were also dangerous: “Every gap that is there, every weak point that is there has somehow been exploited at some point.” They are currently working with the app providers to close the gaps. “If we see that this is not fixed, then we reserve the right to issue a corresponding product warning”said Schönbohm.

Author: The surplus grain of the rich man’s house

The Fed once again held an interest rate meeting.

Of course, the Fed stunned the market once again. After the Fed negotiated interest rates, U.S. Treasury yields soared and the price of gold plummeted. The market exclaimed that Taper is coming, and Taper is coming. …

Suddenly remembered a children’s story.

A papaya was ripe and fell from the tree into the lake, with a grunt, splashing white water. A rabbit heard it, thought it was a monster, and ran away, yelling as he ran, “Run away, come on!” The monkey heard it, and ran along, shouting as he ran, “Everyone, run away, come on!” At this moment, the whole forest was in a commotion, and the animals all ran up, shouting as they ran: “Run for your life, here comes Gudong!” A papaya was ripe and fell from the tree into the lake, with a grunt, splashing white water. A rabbit heard it, thought it was a monster, and ran away, yelling as he ran, “Run away, come on!” The monkey heard it, and ran along, shouting as he ran, “Everyone, run away, come on!” At this moment, the whole forest was in a commotion, and the animals all ran up, shouting as they ran: “Run for your life, here comes Gudong!” What does “Taper” mean?

It means “gradual reduction” in English, and it specifically refers to the Fed’s gradual reduction of its money printing scale (QE), which has brought the so-called “Taper Tantrum” to the financial market.

But to put it bluntly, Taper is just the “gu-dong” that papaya fell into the water.

According to the Fed’s statement and its answers to reporters, the Fed only slightly increased its forecast of economic growth figures and increased its forecast of inflation figures. It did not claim to reduce QE at all. Can’t discuss it?), and didn’t mention any interest rate hikes-but compared to the March meeting on interest rates, in the forecast, the benchmark interest rate in 2023 will be raised by 0.5 percentage points.

Since the US inflation data in May was as high as 5%, which was almost the highest level since 1992, the results of this interest rate meeting were widely interpreted by the market as:

1) To withdraw from easing soon;

2) There will be two interest rate hikes in 2023.

Well, regardless of whether it will withdraw from easing this year, or whether it will actually raise interest rates twice in 2023, the market has begun to anticipate and ferment this matter, and the result that the Fed wants has been achieved.

Because the Fed is the top master of manipulating market expectations.

After the global financial crisis in 2008, the Fed conducted three rounds of QE in six years, and its balance sheet rose from 900 billion U.S. dollars to 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars.

The interest rate meeting in June 2013 was the same as it is now. At that time, the third round of QE was still underway. The then Fed Chairman Bernanke gave clear conditions for reducing QE: when the unemployment rate was approaching 7%.

The results of the meeting on interest rates are also very similar to the structure of this time. The Fed also raised its economic growth expectations and inflation forecasts…

Because the unemployment rate at that time was actually quite close to 7%, and the market at that time also predicted that in December 2013, the probability of the Federal Reserve reducing QE was 80%…

The results of it?

Even if the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in March 2014, the Fed did not see a reduction in QE. By mid-2014, the unemployment rate had fallen to 6.2%, and the Fed began to reduce QE, and the Fed’s balance sheet scale was not large. More time will be added to September 2014 (see the figure below, the dark blue line and the left axis are the U.S. unemployment rate so far in 2004, and the dark red line and the right axis are the size of the Fed’s balance sheet so far in 2004).

As for the interest rate hike after the QE reduction in 2013, it was as far as two years later, and after the interest rate hike was once, there was an interval of two years before the interest rate hike again.

Expected management is greater than actual operation, and the form and sample are greater than the actual tightening.

Everyone must remember:

In today’s era of credit money, no matter which central bank, the monetary policy will always be loose but not tight. As long as it can be loose, it must be loose. Even if the economy is overheated, even if inflation is rampant, interest rate hikes and austerity are going back three steps— —On the contrary, if you see signs of economic downturn, easing and interest rate cuts, it will definitely be like a tiger going down the mountain, and it will be implemented.

Believe it or not, let’s take a look at how aggressive the Fed was in 2020 when the U.S. stock market plummeted:

Within two weeks, cut interest rates urgently;

I feel that the interest rate cut is not enough, so I cut the interest rate directly to 0+ days and the amount is loose;

The amount of easing is not enough, unlimited easing + buying corporate bonds directly.

——There is no lower limit for looseness, and tightness depends on installation.

Someone might say that the US inflation rate has now exceeded 5%. If the Fed does not reduce QE or raise interest rates, how can it be explained to the market?

Who told you that the Fed needs to explain to the market on inflation?

The task of the Fed is to guide market expectations!

As long as the market’s inflation expectations come down, inflation will not be a problem.

The Fed constantly hints to the market that the prices of major commodities plummeted from March to July 2020, so the inflation rate in the corresponding month of 2021 appears to be very serious, but this is temporary. After these few months pass, the inflation rate in the United States will Decline, and, in the future, we will have to reduce QE, we will also raise interest rates, and the inflation rate will definitely fall…

Yes, the Fed printed 100% of the base currency in the past year and increased the broad money by 25%, but the Fed firmly believes that the current inflation in the United States must be temporary!

In fact, because politics is not correct, what the Fed is embarrassed to tell everyone is–

Now, what the United States needs most is inflation!

Moreover, we must let the inflation rate exceed the U.S. Treasury bond yield!

Why do I say that?

Because of US government debt!

Think about it, if you owe one million yuan to someone, you have to pay it back, but you have been borrowing money every year, how should you pay it back?

The best way is inflation. If there is an inflation rate of 100% and the nominal price of your total debt remains the same, then your actual debt burden will be reduced by half!

According to the latest data, the total debt of the US federal government has reached 28.3 trillion US dollars.

As long as inflation occurs, both the US GDP growth and US fiscal revenue in nominal dollars will increase significantly, and the interest that needs to be paid to the national debt is fixed when it is auctioned out. As long as the inflation comes up, the debt The burden will gradually decrease.

The benefits are not only here.

Allowing actual inflation to exceed the yield of Treasury bonds will also help the US government issue new debt and borrow more money.

For example, the U.S. government pays 2% interest on national debt, but the actual inflation has been maintained at the current 5%, which means that the real interest rate is -3%, and the U.S. government is not afraid of borrowing more money because of government debt/ GDP will fall, and America’s fiscal ability to pay is getting higher…

As for the price, the price is of course the people who use dollars all over the world are those who buy bonds.

Someone should ask, the real negative interest rate, what if there are not so many people buying U.S. Treasury bonds?

There is also the Federal Reserve, which directly prints money to buy!

This was originally one of the main purposes of the Fed’s QE!

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, under the buy-buy-buy of the Fed, by April 2021, the total amount of US Treasury bonds held by the Fed has exceeded the US Treasury bonds held by overseas investors.

Therefore, many people think that because of the recent increase in inflation, the Fed will soon withdraw from monetary easing. In fact, the Fed is eager for such inflation to continue for a period of time until the Biden administration almost runs out of borrowing money and no longer needs it. When borrowing money, the Fed will consider really reducing QE or even stopping easing.

Also, because everyone expects that the Fed will withdraw from easing and one big buyer will be missing, the market generally infers that the price of Treasury bonds will fall, so the yield will continue to rise, and many major market players are predicting that U.S. bond yields will rise in the second half of the year. To more than 2%…

However, it is likely that everyone is wrong again!

The graph below is a comparison between the Fed’s balance sheet and the yield of 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds from 2006 to date. Since the Fed reduced QE in 2014, U.S. Treasury yields have continued to fall; in 2018, the Fed really began to shrink its balance sheet. , U.S. Treasury bond yields have also fallen (see the two circles in the figure below)…

In other words, the two QE exits since 2008 have proved that each time the so-called QE is reduced or exited, the Fed is just “leading” the public’s expectations. Every time it exits the implementation of QE, either the Treasury bond yield is directly Continue to fall, or Treasury bond yields continue to fall after a short-term rise.

In short, under the manipulation of the Fed, they will definitely keep the yields of treasury bonds at a very low level, and they will surely allow the inflation rate to continue to exceed the yields of treasury bonds, and will definitely reduce the debt burden for the US government…

After all, the Federal Reserve, which claims to protect the value of the U.S. dollar, was originally the world’s largest lie maker!

Hearing before the BGH Are CumEx transactions a criminal offense?

Status: 15.06.2021 4:41 p.m.

The first proceedings on CumEx transactions have begun at the Federal Court of Justice. The judges must decide whether the deals are a criminal offense as tax evasion. The verdict will have far-reaching consequences. From Klaus Hempel, ARD legal editors They led to one of the biggest tax scandals in German history, in which the German tax authorities were duped and the state suffered billions in damage: the CumEx business. Investors used loopholes in legal regulations to make big money. They were supported by banks and top lawyers who work in large commercial law firms.

The state escapes taxes running into billions

Essentially, these CumEx deals were about stock dividends. These are profits from stock corporations that are distributed to shareholders. Taxes are deducted directly from this and transferred to the tax office. The shareholders can get the money back under certain conditions. In the CumEx business, investors have used an extremely sophisticated system and have taxes reimbursed that were never paid. At some point the dizziness was exposed. In March 2020, the first defendants were convicted by the Bonn District Court: two British stock traders involved in such transactions. Because they cooperated closely with the prosecutor, they were sentenced to relatively mild suspended sentences. Nevertheless, they appealed to the Federal Court of Justice. He must now clarify in a landmark judgment whether the CumEx business is actually a criminal tax evasion. “In the present proceedings, the Federal Court of Justice is dealing for the first time with so-called CumEx transactions from the point of view of tax evasion,” explains Chief Public Prosecutor Thomas Heise from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. “He will decide whether the peculiarities of these transactions allow a tax that has not actually been paid to be reclaimed from the tax authorities.”

June 15, 2021

Warburg-Bank rejects responsibility

One of the two stock traders had earned 14 million euros from the deals, which he is supposed to repay. The private bank MM Warburg was also involved in the business. According to the judgment of the Bonn Regional Court, 176 million euros are to be collected from her. The bank is defending itself against this at the BGH. Your lawyer Ali Norouzi believes that the law does not justify skimming off the funds. “There were no representatives of the bank in the dock, but traders from other companies who traded for their own account and not for the bank,” argues Norouzi. “They made substantial profits and damaged the bank considerably. Their actions cannot be attributed to the bank.”

06/01/2021

Judgment expected at the end of July with far-reaching consequences

Nevertheless, the public prosecutor said that the millions in profits would have to be collected. The Bonn Regional Court followed this legal opinion. The Federal Court of Justice now has the final say. He plans to announce his verdict at the end of July. His decision is very significant for the lower level of justice. Hundreds of suspects are being investigated for tax evasion nationwide. If the BGH evaluates the CumEx transactions as criminal tax evasion, there will probably be further convictions in which those primarily responsible must expect long prison sentences. File number: 1 StR 519/20

Airline in crisis Lufthansa wants to get rid of state influence

Status: 15.06.2021 9.45 a.m.

The largest German airline wants to raise additional money on the capital market for its realignment. In doing so, the group is trying to reduce the federal government’s ability to influence as quickly as possible. Lufthansa has initiated its planned capital increase. According to a mandatory announcement yesterday evening, the aviation group mandated four banks to implement the measure. However, according to the announcement “The Management Board and the Supervisory Board have not yet made a decision on the scope and timing of a possible capital increase”. Companies raise capital by issuing additional shares; the shares of the existing shareholders are thus diluted. The company is now implementing the approval of the shareholders received at the general meeting in May. The airline is allowed to raise up to 5.5 billion euros in fresh capital on the capital market. According to media reports, the management initially only wants to mobilize around three billion euros in order to push ahead with the restructuring of the company.

Exclusive 06/01/2021

Billion dollar rescue package

Lufthansa also wants to reduce the influence of the state through the capital increase. Lufthansa was in dire straits due to the Corona crisis and had to be supported by Germany and its other locations with a financial framework of nine billion euros. Germany accounted for a total of 6.8 billion euros of the state rescue package for Lufthansa. However, the airline group only made use of around two billion euros of the guaranteed funds. Half of this has already been repaid with the money from new bonds, so that Lufthansa currently owes the state around one billion euros. A capital increase of three billion euros would enable the company to repay this amount earlier than previously planned. The state would then soon have to sell its block of shares, for which it paid around 300 million euros.

Group wants to drastically reduce costs

With the withdrawal of the state participation, Lufthansa would have more leeway again. Because in return for state aid, the company has to adhere to various conditions: for example, a ban on paying dividends to shareholders or distributing interest to bond owners. Bonus payments to managers are also not yet possible. So far, the plan was not to pay off the state aid until 2023. Even drastic cost savings are probably easier to implement without government influence. According to earlier information, Lufthansa wants to reduce the number of employees in Germany by another 10,000 to 100,000. To this end, Lufthansa wants to lower tariff standards, encourage employees to leave the company voluntarily, but also issue redundancies for operational reasons. The unions had already made concessions in the Corona crisis, but recently accused Lufthansa of evading tariffs.

The approval of the state fund is still pending

The federal government’s economic stabilization fund (WSF), which has a 20 percent stake in Lufthansa, is expected to participate in the capital increase – but without spending additional taxpayers’ money on it. The WSF still has to approve the plan, said Lufthansa. The Corona financial aid fund wants to participate in the capital increase with a so-called “Operation Blanche”. A shareholder sells part of his subscription rights for the new shares in order to exercise the remaining subscription rights with the proceeds. No additional tax revenue is required for this transaction. The MDAX company also announced a new profit target for 2024 in the evening. By then, experts estimate that aviation should return to pre-crisis levels. The adjusted operating margin, i.e. the ratio of operating profit to sales, should then reach at least eight percent, and the return on investment should be at least ten percent.

Weiter warten auf die Fed Moderate Verluste an der Wall Street

Stand: 15.06.2021 22:20 Uhr

An der Wall Street haben die Anleger weiter fest den künftigen Zinskurs der Notenbank Federal Reserve im Fokus. Die Indizes bleiben auf hohem Niveau, gaben heute aber nach. Die großen US-Aktienindizes sind heute mit Verlusten aus dem Handel gegangen. Sie bewegten sich dabei aber in überschaubaren Bandbreiten, so dass der breiter aufgestellte S&P-500-Index zwischenzeitlich bei 4257 Punkten sogar ein Rekordhoch erreichen konnte, ehe er danach wieder zurückfiel. Am Ende stand der besonders für die Erfolgsmessung institutioneller Investoren wichtige Index bei 4246 Punkten, ein leichter Verlust von 0,2 Prozent. Der Leitindex Dow Jones verlor ebenfalls leicht 0,27 Prozent und ging bei 34.299 Punkten aus dem Handel.

Nasdaq: Wie gewonnen, so zerronnen

An der Technologiebörse Nasdaq drehte sich heute der Trend um. Hatte der Auswahlindex Nasdaq 100 gestern noch bei 14.129 Punkten ein Rekordhoch markiert, gab er heute 0,7 Prozent nach auf 14.030 Punkte. Auch der Composite-Index lag ebenfalls um 0,7 Prozent im Minus bei 14.072 Punkten. Die Schwankungen zeigen, wie nervös die Anleger an der Nasdaq derzeit sind, gelten die hochkapitalisierten Technologieunternehmen doch für höhere Zinsen als besonders verwundbar.

Gebannter Blick auf die Fed

Herausragendes Thema an der Street bleibt weiter der zukünftige Zinskurs der Fed. Experten rechnen zwar nicht mit einer Zinsänderung, warten aber mit Spannung auf Aussagen der Währungshüter zum Thema Inflation. Davor wollen sich die Anleger nicht mehr groß neu positionieren, die Indizes bleiben aber auf hohem Niveau. Die Fed werde am Mittwoch vorerst nicht an ihrer Geldpolitik rütteln und den aktuellen Preisdruck erneut als vorübergehend bezeichnen, prognostizierte Dirk Steffen, Chefanlagestratege der Deutschen Bank. “Dennoch könnten die Währungshüter damit beginnen, über ein mögliches Zurückfahren der Anleihekäufe und die Voraussetzungen dafür zu diskutieren.” Außerdem könnten die neuen Zinsprojektionen eine erste Anhebung schon für 2023 statt 2024 signalisieren. Dies sei in den Kursen allerdings schon enthalten. Die zweitägige Sitzung beginnt heute, die Ergebnisse werden am Mittwoch ab 20:00 Uhr mitteleuropäischer Zeit bekannt gegeben.

Weiterer Schlussrekord für den DAX

Im Vorfeld der Zinssitzung der Federal Reserve (Fed) zeigte sich der deutsche Aktienmarkt robust und bleibt damit weiter auf hohem Niveau. Der deutsche Leitindex beendete den Handel so hoch wie noch nie bei 15.729 Punkten, ein Tagesgewinn von 0,4 Prozent. Im Tageshoch ging es bis auf 15.792 Zähler und damit bis ganz knapp an das Rekordhoch bei 15.802 Punkten. “Investoren warten nach der weiterhin locker agierenden Europäischen Zentralbank nun auf ein entsprechendes Signal der US-Notenbank, dass auch jenseits des Atlantiks von einem frühzeitigen Ende der ultralockeren Geldpolitik noch keine Rede ist”, sagte Marktanalyst Milan Cutkovic vom Brokerhaus Axi. Bis dahin will sich trotz der zuletzt verstärkten Inflationssignale niemand aus dem Markt verabschieden.

Einigung zwischen USA und EU wegen Airbus und Boeing

Rückenwind gab es bei den Einzelwerten heute für die Luftfahrtbranche. Denn im jahrelangen Streit zwischen den USA und der EU über staatliche Subventionen für die Flugzeugbauer Airbus und Boeing haben sich beide Seiten auf ein Fünf-Jahres-Abkommen zur Aussetzung der milliardenschweren Strafzölle geeinigt . Damit werde ein neues Kapitel aufgeschlagen in den Beziehungen – mit Kooperation statt Gerichtsstreitigkeiten, sagte EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyern bei EU-USA-Gipfel in Brüssel. Die Zölle könnten wieder eingeführt werden, falls US-Unternehmen nicht in der Lage seien, fair mit denen in Europa zu konkurrieren, fügte die US-Handelsbeauftragte Katherine Tai hinzu. Im DAX gehörten hinter Tagessieger Siemens die Papiere des Triebwerkbauers MTU zu den größten Gewinnern

Wenig Bewegung am Devisenmarkt

Am sonst so schnelllebigen Devisenmarkt heißt es ebenfalls Warten auf die Fed. Der Euro wird im US-Handel mit 1,2127 US-Dollar gehandelt und damit ganz leicht höher als in Europa. Die Europäische Zentralbank (EZB) setzte den Referenzkurs auf 1,2108 (Montag: 1,2112) Dollar fest. Selbst neue Inflationszahlen aus Deutschland und den USA ändern an der derzeitigen Lethargie vor dem Fed-Entscheid nichts. Es gilt mehr denn je, morgen genau zwischen den Zeilen zu lesen. Auch das politische Comeback der USA in NATO und G7 nach dem Ende der Präsidentschaft von Donald Trump helfen dem Dollar nicht. Morgen trifft US-Präsident Joe Biden Russlands Staatschef Wladimir Putin. Traditionell gilt der Greenback in politisch unsicheren Zeiten als “sicherer Hafen”.

Deutsche Inflation legt zu

Steigende Kosten für Energieprodukte wie Benzin haben die deutsche Inflationsrate im Mai auf den höchsten Stand seit annähernd zehn Jahren getrieben. Waren und Dienstleistungen verteuerten sich um durchschnittlich 2,5 Prozent zum Vorjahresmonat, wie das Statistische Bundesamt mitteilte und damit eine frühere Schätzung bestätigte. “Damit erhöhte sich die Inflationsrate den fünften Monat in Folge”, hieß es.

US-Erzeugerpreise steigen

Aus den USA mehren sich derweil ebenfalls die Vorboten einer steigenden Inflation. Im Mai stiegen die Erzeugerpreise gegenüber dem Vorjahresmonat um 6,6 Prozent, wie das Arbeitsministerium in Washington mitteilte. Das war nicht nur stärker als der von Analysten erwartete Anstieg von im Schnitt 6,2 Prozent. Auch war es der stärkste Zuwachs seit Beginn der Aufzeichnungen gegenüber dem Vorjahresmonat im Jahr 2010, wie das Ministerium erklärte. Im Monatsvergleich stiegen die Preise, die Produzenten für ihre Waren erhalten, um 0,8 Prozent. Auch dieser Zuwachs fiel stärker aus als erwartet.

Einzelhandelsumsätze steigen nicht so stark

Die US-Einzelhandelsumsätze sind im Mai hingegen stärker als erwartet gefallen. Die Umsätze seien um 1,3 Prozent zum Vormonat gesunken, teilte das Handelsministerium in Washington mit. Analysten hatten im Mittel nur einen Rückgang um 0,8 Prozent erwartet. Allerdings war die Entwicklung im April deutlich positiver als zunächst berichtet. Damals waren die Umsätze um revidierte 0,9 Prozent gestiegen, nachdem zunächst nur eine Stagnation berichtet worden war. Im Vergleich zum entsprechenden Vorjahresmonat ergibt sich ein deutliches Plus von 27,7 Prozent. Im Mai 2020 war der Einzelhandel stark durch die Corona-Krise belastet worden.

Eurobonds stark gefragt

Bei der ersten Auktion gemeinsamer europäischer Anleihen hat die EU 20 Milliarden Euro eingenommen. Die Emission sei siebenfach überzeichnet gewesen, teilte EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen am Dienstag mit. Das bedeutet, dass Papiere im Volumen von rund 140 Milliarden Euro Abnehmer gefunden hätten. Den begleitenden Banken zufolge lag die Rendite der Bonds bei 0,086 Prozent. Die EU hatte im vergangenen Jahr ein Wiederaufbauprogramm im Umfang von 750 Milliarden Euro beschlossen – 800 Milliarden in an die Inflation angepassten Preisen, wie von der Leyen erklärte. Das Geld soll helfen, die wirtschaftlichen Schäden durch die Pandemie zu bewältigen. Finanziert wird dies über Schulden, die bis 2058 gemeinsam getilgt werden sollen. Die 27 EU-Staaten hatten diese Beschlüsse in den vergangenen Wochen offiziell ratifiziert, was Voraussetzung für den Start der Schuldenaufnahme war.

Ölpreise weiter auf dem Vormarsch

Die Ölpreise haben am Dienstag zugelegt und erneut Mehrjahreshochs erreicht. Ein Barrel (159 Liter) der Nordseesorte Brent kostete zuletzt 73,69 US-Dollar. Das waren 83 Cent mehr als am Vortag. Mit 73,90 Dollar stieg der Brentpreis zeitweise auf den höchsten Stand seit etwa zwei Jahren. Der Preis für ein Fass der US-Sorte West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stieg um 93 Cent auf 71,81 Dollar. Mit 72,03 Dollar war er zuvor auf den höchsten Stand seit Oktober 2018 geklettert. Die Ölpreise markierten damit mehrjährige Höchststände. Gestützt werden die Preise vor allem durch die Aussicht auf eine konjunkturelle Besserung und einen damit einhergehenden Nachfrageanstieg nach Erdöl und Ölprodukten wie Benzin. Das Rohölkartell Opec rechnet für die zweite Jahreshälfte mit einem kräftigen Nachfrageschub. Nicht gefragt war hingen Gold, dessen Preis sich um ein halbes Prozent auf 1857 Dollar je Feinunze ermäßigte.

Deutsche Bank stellt sich neu auf gegen Finanzkriminalität

Die Deutsche Bank will durch eine neue interne Aufstellung schlagkräftiger im Kampf gegen Finanzkriminalität werden. Vor allem die Bereiche Risikobewertung, Qualitätskontrolle und Transaktionsüberwachung würden gestärkt, erklärte Deutschlands größtes Geldhaus am Dienstag in einer E-Mail an die Mitarbeiter. “Ich bin mir bewusst, dass noch viel Arbeit vor uns liegt, auch weil wir die Anforderungen der Regulatoren noch nicht überall erfüllen”, führte Rechtsvorstand Stefan Simon aus, der seit Mai auch die Bereiche Compliance und Kampf gegen Finanzkriminalität bei dem Frankfurter DAX-Konzern führt. Die Finanzaufsicht Bafin hatte erst kürzlich mehr Anstrengungen der Deutschen Bank beim Kampf gegen Geldwäsche angemahnt. Die Bank müsse “weitere angemessene interne Sicherungsmaßnahmen (…) ergreifen und Sorgfaltspflichten” einhalten, forderte die Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (Bafin) Ende April. Die Behörde ergänzte das Mandat ihres 2018 bei der Deutschen Bank eingesetzten Sonderbeauftragten.

Volkswagen will selber Batterierohstoffe beschaffen

Im Rennen um einen der vorderen Plätze in der Elektromobilität will sich Volkswagen den Zugriff auf Rohstoffe durch Kooperationen und Partnerschaften sichern. “Neben der Zellherstellung, die für uns ein neues Geschäftsfeld ist, müssen wir auch stärker in die vertikale Integration einsteigen, in die Beschaffung von Rohmaterialien, in die Absicherung von Rohmaterialien”, sagte Technik-Vorstand Thomas Schmall. Durch die eigene Beschaffung von Batterierohstoffen will Volkswagen sein ehrgeiziges Wachstum in der E-Mobilität absichern und dabei gleichzeitig erreichen, dass die Kosten der Akkus sinken. Batterie-Autos sollen für eine breite Masse von Käufern erschwinglich werden.

SAP setzt weiter auf die Cloud

Europas größter Softwarehersteller SAP will trotz kurzfristig ungünstiger Wechselkursentwicklung einen langen Atem beim schnelleren Umbau zum Cloudanbieter beweisen. Die Mittelfristprognose bis 2025 behält SAP aber bei, weil sich der jüngst noch einmal verstärkte Cloudkurs mit der Zeit auszahlen soll. Vorstandschef Christian Klein hatte im Januar ein neues Programmbündel aus der Taufe gehoben, mit dem Kunden schneller und einfacher auf die Cloudangebote des Konzerns umsteigen können. Das erfordert zunächst mehr Investitionen in die Technik und ins Marketing, weswegen Klein bereits im vergangenen Herbst die mittelfristigen Margenprognosen kassiert und die Investoren auf eine längere Durststrecke eingestellt hatte.

LEG kauft Deutsche Wohnen-Portfolio

Die LEG-Immobliengruppe-Gruppe hat erneut ein Portfolio der Deutsche Wohnen übernommen. “Die insgesamt rund 2200 Wohnungen liegen sämtlich in Rheinland-Pfalz”, erklärte der Konzern am Dienstag auf Nachfrage der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters. Die Transaktion stehe noch unter dem Vorbehalt der Freigabe durch die zuständigen Kartellbehörden. Der Besitzübergang solle zum 31. Dezember 2021 erfolgen. Über den Kaufpreis sei Stillschweigen vereinbart worden. Die Gespräche über den Erwerb des Portfolios liefen bereits seit einigen Monaten und stünden in keinen Zusammenhang mit der geplanten Fusion der Deutsche Wohnen und Vonovia.

Lanxess setzt auf Lithium

Der Spezialchemiekonzern Lanxess ist bei seinem Projektpartner Standard Lithium als Anteilseigner eingestiegen. Ein 2019 gegebener Kredit von Lanxess wurde in knapp 6,3 Millionen Aktien sowie gut 3,1 Millionen Optionen für weitere Papiere gewandelt. Damit kommt Lanxess nun auf eine Beteiligung von rund fünf Prozent.

Lufthansa hat große Ziele

Die Lufthansa will nach der Corona-Krise wieder ähnlich profitabel werden wie in ihrem Rekordjahr 2017. Die Fluggesellschaft veröffentlichte überraschend hohe Ziele für das Jahr 2024, wenn sich der Luftverkehr weitgehend von dem Einbruch im Zuge der Pandemie erholt haben soll. Um ihre Ziele zu erreichen, will die Lufthansa ihre Kosten bis 2024 im Vergleich zu 2019 um etwa 3,5 Milliarden Euro senken. Die Lufthansa hat zudem Vorbereitungen für eine mögliche Kapitalerhöhung angekündigt . Dazu habe man Banken mandatiert, teilte die deutsche Fluggesellschaft am Montag mit. “Vorstand und Aufsichtsrat haben noch keine Entscheidung über Umfang und Zeitpunkt einer möglichen Kapitalerhöhung getroffen”, hieß es in einer Pflichtmitteilung. An der Börse schloss das LH-Papier im MDAX über drei Prozent leichter.

Commerzbank stärkt die Kapitalstruktur

Die Commerzbank hat mit einer neuen Nachranganleihe eine halbe Milliarde Euro bei Investoren eingesammelt. Das Interesse von Anlegern war groß: Das Orderbuch sei mit mehr als 1,75 Milliarden Euro mehrfach überzeichnet gewesen, teilte die Commerzbank am Dienstag mit. Durch die Emission stärke sie ihre Kapitalstruktur. Die Anleihe ist mit 4,25 Prozent verzinst. Bei der Emission handelt es sich um eine Additional-Tier1-Anleihe (AT1), also eine Nachranganleihe. Solche Wertpapiere werden in der Regel von Banken herausgegeben. Sie funktionieren wie klassische Unternehmensanleihen, nur dass ihre Gläubiger im Falle einer Insolvenz erst später – nachrangig – bedient werden. Aufgrund ihres Risikos sind AT1-Anleihen höher verzinst. Sie haben außerdem eine unendliche oder sehr lange Laufzeit, können aber nach einer gewissen Zeit getilgt werden.

Grenke-Chefin geht

Beim Leasingspezialisten Grenke kehrt keine Ruhe ein. Gestern Abend gab das Unternehmen überraschend den baldigen Abgang seiner mehrjährigen Chefin bekannt. Antje Leminsky habe sich aus persönlichen Gründen entschieden, nach acht Jahren im Vorstand, davon drei Jahre als Vorstandsvorsitzende, das Unternehmen zum 30. Juni 2021 zu verlassen, hieß es. Mit der seit Monaten laufenden Sonderprüfung nach Vorwürfen eines Finanzinvestors habe ihr Rücktritt nichts zu tun, sagte ein Sprecher. An der Börse kommt die Nachricht nicht sonderlich gut an. Das Papier fällt deutlich.

Neuer Chef für die Aareal Bank

Die Aareal Bank hat einen neuen Vorstandschef gefunden. Der frühere Commerzbank-Vorstand Jochen Klösges (56) trete voraussichtlich am 15. September die Nachfolge des erkrankten Hermann Merkens an, teilte der im SDAX gelistete Immobilienfinanzierer überraschend am Dienstag in Wiesbaden mit. Dies habe der Aufsichtsrat einstimmig beschlossen. Merkens war Ende April wegen einer Erkrankung aus dem Vorstand ausgeschieden.

H&M mit Umsatzsprung

Der schwedische Modekonzern H&M hat im zweiten Geschäftsquartal (bis Ende Mai) seinen Umsatz im Jahresvergleich um 62 Prozent auf 46,5 Milliarden Kronen (umgerechnet 4,6 Milliarden Euro) verbessert, wie das Unternehmen in Stockholm mitteilte. Die Umsatzentwicklung sei im Zeitraum März bis Mai aber weiter von der anhaltenden Pandemie beeinflusst worden, hieß es. Zu Beginn des zweiten Geschäftsquartals seien rund 1300 Filialen vorübergehend geschlossen gewesen.

Oracle über Erwartungen

Eine starke Nachfrage nach Cloud-Diensten und Software-Lizenzen in der Corona-Krise hat dem SAP-Konkurrenten im abgelaufenen vierten Quartal einen Umsatzzuwachs beschert. Die Erlöse kletterten in den drei Monaten bis Ende Mai um acht Prozent auf 11,23 Milliarden Dollar, wie Oracle nach US-Börsenschluss mitteilte. Analysten hatten im Schnitt mit 11,04 Milliarden Dollar gerechnet. Der Nettogewinn stieg auf 4,03 Milliarden Dollar nach 3,12 Milliarden Dollar vor einem Jahr.

IBM stellt europäischen Quantencomputer vor

Das Potenzial von Quantencomputern für Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft ist enorm – nun hat der auf diesem Gebiet mit führende US-Konzern IBM die erste dieser Anlagen in Europa platziert. Das hochkomplexe und ultraschnelle System wurde heute am deutschen Sitz des IT-Unternehmens in Ehningen vorgestellt und soll unter dem Dach der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft dazu genutzt werden, die Technologie und die Anwendungsszenarien weiter zu erforschen. Bei der Anlage handelt es sich nach IBM-Angaben um “Europas leistungsstärksten Quantencomputer im industriellen Kontext”. Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel bezeichnete den Supercomputer in einer Videobotschaft als “Wunderwerk der Technologie”. Deutschland gehöre in der Quantentechnologie-Forschung zur Weltspitze. Mit Quantencomputern reagieren Forschung und Industrie auf die Tatsache, dass die bislang übliche Entwicklung von Hochleistungscomputern an ihre physikalischen Grenzen stößt. Quantencomputer können theoretisch um ein Vielfaches leistungsfähiger sein als herkömmliche Rechner, sie können in kürzerer Zeit also komplexere Aufgaben als konventionelle Systeme erledigen.

About You kommen für 23 Euro

Die Aktien des Hamburger Online-Modehändlers About You kosten beim morgigen Börsengang je Stück 23 Euro. Das teilte das Unternehmen mit, das damit eine Marktkapitalisierung von rund 3,9 Milliarden Euro erreicht. Der Ausgabepreis liegt etwa in der Mitte der Spanne von 21 bis 26 Euro, zu der die Aktien Investoren angeboten worden waren. Das Volumen des Börsengangs liegt bei 842 Millionen Euro.

Bike24 und Cherry geben Preisspannen bekannt

Und auch die nächsten beiden Börsenkandidaten sind in den Startlöchern. Der Dresdner Online-Fahrradhändler Bike24 will noch im Juni auf das Frankfurter Börsenparkett. Wie das Unternehmen mitteilte, wurde die Preisspanne für den Börsengang auf 15 bis 19 Euro je Aktie festgelegt. In diesem Bereich käme Bike24 auf einen Börsenwert zwischen 662 und 812 Millionen Euro. Der bei Computerspielern beliebte Tastaturhersteller Cherry hat die Preisspanne für seinen geplanten Börsengang auf 30 bis 38 Euro je Anteilsschein festgelegt. Auf dieser Basis würde die Marktkapitalisierung bei 729 bis 923 Millionen Euro liegen, teilte das Unternehmen in München mit.

Because of the Karlsruhe ECB judgment EU initiates proceedings against Germany

As of: June 9th, 2021 2:58 p.m.

The EU Commission considers the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on bond purchases by the ECB to be a “dangerous precedent”. That is why she is now initiating infringement proceedings against Germany. From Klaus Hempel, ARD legal editors The Brussels Commission believes that the Federal Constitutional Court violated the primacy of EU law with its controversial ruling on the ECB’s bond purchases last year. In doing so, Germany violated the basic principles of EU law. With the initiation of the infringement proceedings, the federal government now has two months to respond to the allegations in writing.

A judgment with explosive political power

In May 2020 the The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the multi-billion dollar bond purchase program “PSPP” of the ECB was partially unconstitutional . The European Court of Justice (ECJ) had previously ruled that at the request of the Constitutional Court the program is legally in order and there is no violation of EU law . The Karlsruhe judges did not accept this, however, and thus opposed the ECJ – for the first time ever. They called his judgment “objectively arbitrary” and “methodologically no longer justifiable”. Your main criticism of the bond purchase program: The ECB had not justified why the program was proportionate and the significant economic impact on all citizens should be justified. The ECB and, through the ruling, also the ECJ had exceeded competences. The Bundestag and the Federal Government would have to work towards ensuring that the ECB subsequently provides this reason. In June 2020 the Governing Council looked again at the PSPP program and its proportionality. A little later, the Bundestag decided in a resolution that the proportionality test carried out by the Governing Council met the requirements resulting from the judgment. In a decision from the end of April 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court finally found that the Bundestag and the Federal Government had implemented the ruling. For the Federal Constitutional Court, the case was closed. But not for the EU Commission.

EU Commission sees dangerous precedent

The Commission sees a need for further clarification. In their view, the judgment represents “a serious precedent both for the future practice of the court itself and for the constitutional courts of other Member States”. The Brussels authority fears that the German example could set a precedent. The fear: EU states such as Poland or Hungary, which the Commission accuses of violating the rule of law, could no longer follow judgments of the European Court of Justice and refer to Germany. A year ago, shortly after the verdict was announced, had Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made it clear that infringement proceedings could be initiated against Germany . Judgments by the European Court of Justice are binding on all national courts, she explains. “The last word on EU law is always spoken in Luxembourg. Nowhere else.” It is about holding the EU together as a community of values ​​and rights. The reaction of the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki shortly after the ruling from Karlsruhe showed that the fears in Brussels are not entirely unjustified. He spoke of one of the most important judgments in the history of the European Union. The judgment makes it clear that the individual member states determine where the competency limits lie for the EU institutions. In Poland, the national-conservative PiS government has been restructuring the judiciary for years. The ECJ has already intervened several times and found that parts of the reforms violated EU law.

Federal government now on the train

With the initiation of infringement proceedings, the federal government now has two months to take a position. If the Brussels Commission is satisfied with the answer, the procedure would be ended relatively quickly. In the most extreme case, however, the EU Commission could ultimately sue Germany before the European Court of Justice. In this case, the conflict between the ECJ and the Federal Constitutional Court would most likely escalate for good. Shortly after the Karlsruhe ruling, Luxembourg had already expressed its displeasure and officially declared that its rulings would be binding on a national court like the Federal Constitutional Court if it had appealed to the ECJ. Regardless of how the Federal Government will express itself: It cannot impose any requirements on the completely independently acting Federal Constitutional Court, let alone prescribe not to oppose judgments of the ECJ in the future. In previous rulings on Europe, Karlsruhe had always reserved a kind of “emergency brake”, the right to the “last word” in certain cases, as it were. At the moment it cannot be assumed that the Federal Constitutional Court will move away from this line of jurisdiction. The EU Commission is obviously interested in exactly that. She wants to ensure that the court grants the ECJ the final decision-making right with regard to European law issues – with the big, actual goal in mind that other constitutional courts of problem countries such as Poland will then also permanently bow to the ECJ rulings. But how it should succeed in persuading the very self-confident Federal Constitutional Court to give up its previous dogmatics, no one currently has a conclusive answer. As expected, the Constitutional Court did not comment on today’s decision by the EU Commission in Brussels.

Government advisory council proposal Will you retire at 68?

Status: 07.06.2021 6:49 p.m.

Advisors to the federal government consider it necessary to raise the retirement age to 68 years. Otherwise, the pension will soon be heading for a “financing shock”. The left reacted indignantly. Advisors to the federal government proposed a reform towards the retirement age at 68 around three months before the general election. There was a risk of “sudden increasing financing problems in the statutory pension insurance from 2025”, predicted the Scientific Advisory Board at the Federal Ministry of Economics on the occasion of its new report on the future of pensions. According to the current legal situation, the age limit for the pension without deductions will be gradually increased from 65 to 67 years until 2029. The proposal could catapult the topic of pensions more strongly into the debates ahead of the federal elections. Because the positions of the advisory board are likely to meet with rejection from the SPD, the Greens, the left and the trade unions. “This is the anti-social Oberhammer,” said left party leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow with a view to the report. Economics minister Peter Altmaier had to “cash in immediately” the corresponding report from his advisors, “otherwise the pension election campaign will start tomorrow”. The left will “defend the rights of pensioners with tooth and nail”. What would be necessary would be a clear pension guarantee that bindingly excludes pension cuts as a result of the corona pandemic, said Hennig-Wellsow.

“Dynamic coupling of the retirement age to life expectancy”

The experts emphasized that the retirement age cannot be decoupled from the development of life expectancy in the long term. “Instead, the additional years of life must be divided according to a clear rule between working more and receiving a longer pension.” To this end, there should be a “dynamic link between the retirement age and life expectancy”. The relationship between the time spent in work and in retirement should remain constant. According to current projections of life expectancy, such a rule would reach retirement age in 2042 at 68, said the director at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Axel Börsch-Supan, who was in charge of the report. The advisory board emphasized in its announcement: “Should life expectancy decrease, the retirement age may also decrease.”

“Sharply increasing subsidies from the federal budget” necessary

By calling for the retirement age to be linked to life expectancy, the committee made a proposal that has been causing waves in the pension policy debates in Germany for years. It is illusory to expect “that higher contributions and a lower pension level can be avoided in the long term”, according to the panel of experts. In the opinion of the advisory board, “sharply increasing subsidies from the federal budget” would have to flow into the pension fund if the valid holding lines for contributions and the pension level were to be maintained. “That would be at the expense of future investments, for example in education, infrastructure and climate protection, and would undermine the sustainability of our social system,” said the chairman of the advisory board, Klaus M. Schmidt, according to the announcement. The advisory board’s proposals also include making existing pensions less dynamic than new pensions when it comes to pension increases.

Illustration The case involved a YouTuber who had a confrontation with the sheriff’s deputy in Pierce County. After the incident, he filed a Public Records Act request for names, dates of birth, photos, and other information to all deputies and subsequent employees. Often, many of these records are not made public to protect law enforcement from harassment, retaliation, and potential identity theft. However, there is still an exception. Members as “news media,” as defined in state law, may receive records. Although based on media interests, the press is generally opposed to making employees’ birthdays private to anyone. But lawmakers have given the press privileged access, because they believe professional journalists can be trusted to use personal information responsibly. The press becomes the backbone of the public. Illustration For example, a news organization may need a date of birth and a photo to check an official’s past employment in connection with a certain scandal or to verify that a law enforcement officer is acting illegally. . In this, the YouTuber claims he is an “investigative journalist” who is considered a member of the news media based on his YouTube channel called “Libertys Champion”. The relevant authorities disagreed, and the case was referred to the Supreme Court. There, the majority was against him becoming a member of the news media. The court’s analysis focused mainly on the fact that he worked alone, not as a member of a newsroom. The nature of news and journalism is evolving rapidly. There are famous people who have added the label “Press – Press” when attending and participating in protests. People use Twitter to announce what’s happening at local government hearings. Others run reporting websites on focused topics, such as the helpful Seattle Insight City Council. Illustration The Legislature has tried to draw a line when it comes to being repeatedly blurred between YouTubers performing personally or Tweeters howling at perceived injustice. Back then, traditional newspapers and television news organizations had been the mainstay of a vibrant, free local press for decades. However, clarifying this distinction has always been difficult. Most people would trust a trained plumber to fix a leaky pipe that flooded their basement, rather than someone who just had a wrench and said he knew the pipes. Wrench doesn’t make a plumber, and Social Media doesn’t make a journalist. Members of the press are trained and adhere to journalistic ethics and standards. The YouTuber in this case will have a hard time convincing any unfriendly reader that he’s a real journalist. But besides that, there are also a lot of serious journalists today who don’t work for any newsroom.

Mariana Mazzucato, a researcher on the economics of innovation and public value, says that the relationship between the state and private enterprise should ideally be a form of “symbiosis” of mutual benefit. Mariana analyzes many aspects of this type in her book “Creating State.” According to her, this relationship requires a smooth “synergy” between the state and the private sector, each promoting the benefits. intrinsic position to become a driving force, creating momentum to contribute to the common development. Interestingly, this scenario has in the past been most apparent in the US. Since the 1950s, the US economy has grown thanks to a combination of three core pillars: computers, microprocessors, and the Internet. The R&D that form each of these pillars stems from a tripartite alliance between government, academia, and private business. The first computers were created with funding from the military, designed and built at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Harvard, and then commercialized by companies like IBM. Likewise, transistors, the building blocks of microprocessors, were invented at Bell Laboratories, and then funded by federal funding for space and space research programs Strategic fire has paved the way for private companies like Intel to figure out how to integrate thousands of transistors onto tiny silica boards to form chips. Finally, everyone knows that the Internet is a product that came from the idea of ​​​​DARPA (the Directing Agency for Advanced Defense Research Projects) and realized through research at universities in conjunction with private contractors like BBN. What’s more, this triple alliance, over the period from the second world war onward, organically and purposefully fused together into a formidable creative machine. An example of this relationship is Vannevar Bust, both the dean of MIT’s School of Engineering and the founder of Raytheon, an important defense contractor, and once a leading figure in scientific management. American military during World War II. When the war ended, Vannevar Bust released a report, “Science, Endless Frontiers,” which called on the government to finance basic research in partnership with universities. and engineering industries. Bush’s report convinced Congress to create a National Science Foundation. From this very beginning, government funding was channeled to universities and private companies. The formation of a triangular relationship between government, industry, and academia in the United States is considered one of the most significant innovations that helped create the technological revolution of the late 20th century. In addition to the National Science Foundation, many federal government agencies become investors and funders of scientific research. In 1965, 23% of government funding for scientific research at universities was provided by the US Department of Defense. The results of these investments were pivotal to America’s postwar economic boom and creative boom. From government orders, research centers of private corporations were formed. A typical example is Xerox PARC of Xerox Corporation, the birthplace of the graphical user interface, an indispensable part of every personal computer today. In addition, there is the formation of “combined public-private” organizations with the support of both the US government, academia and industry such as Stanford Research Institute (SRI) or RAND Corporation, which was originally founded was established to specialize in conducting research and development activities for the US Air Force. The US government also has many programs to sponsor excellent students to train high-quality human resources. It is the Digital Libraries Initiative with funding from the National Science Foundation and collaboration with several other federal government agencies. Among the students who benefit from this program are Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two co-founders of Google. It is easy to understand when American technology corporations, with material support from the government and brains from universities, become giant blocks of magnets attracting future talent from the whole world to Vietnam. America since World War II. Typically the story of the iPhone launched by Apple in 2007. The smart phone that shocked the world, bringing an unprecedented user experience, with a multi-touch screen, Internet access, integrated GPS navigation or virtual personal assistant Siri. Since then, the iPhone has been a golden egg for Apple for 14 consecutive years, making it the first enterprise to reach the $1 trillion mark in 2019. Behind the iPhone is a public-private “triangle alliance” that was started by figures like Vannevar Bush after World War II. For example, Apple’s pioneering multi-touch display on the iPhone stemmed from research by Westerman and Elias at the University of Delaware with government funding, including funded Post-doc programs. from the National Science Foundation and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Multipoint technology was commercialized by Westerman and Elias through the company FingerWork they founded. In 2005, this company was acquired by Apple and then 2 years later the iPhone was born. The Internet is a product of DARPA and GPS has been researched by the US Department of Defense since the 1970s, and so far, although GPS is used for more civilian purposes than military, the US Air Force is still at the forefront. in the maintenance and development of GPS technical infrastructure system, with the average annual budget provided by the US government amounting to more than 700 million USD. Similarly, Siri in the iPhone is an artificial intelligence program that comes from SRI, a “combined public-private” organization. If you want to be great, you cannot help but stand on the shoulders of giants. The US government and its huge, long-term investments are the giants that stretch their shoulders for Apple to rise to the top. However, funding for research and development by the federal government in the United States has been reduced in recent decades, from 1.2 percent of GDP in 1976 to less than 0.8 percent in 2016. 2016. One of the reasons for arguing that the money that the government mobilizes from taxes to invest in R&D will correspondingly reduce the funding that private corporations can invest in these same activities. in a more efficient manner. That is, the government should reduce their direct involvement, but cut taxes, allowing private businesses to freely exercise their creativity. The government withdrew, many private corporations dissolved research units, partly under the pressure of short-term investors demanding a quick return of capital instead of having patience and long-term risk-taking. as long as the previous US federal government. As a result, the US is facing the risk of no longer maintaining the same technological lead gap with its competitors, especially China, where the government invests heavily in science. technology and research and development. America’s success story shows that the federal government plays an irreplaceable role in it, and when that role has been relaxed, the American economic machine has clearly not, or at least If not, find the motivation to recreate the golden age of this country, as the motto of Mr. Donald J. Trump when he ran for the 2016 election. A hot lesson that any government, planner policy cannot be ignored.

Illustration. https://kinhtexaydung.petrotimes.vn The action comes as Colonial Pipeline continues to face a ransomware attack that crippled the pipeline system, leading to widespread fuel shortages along the East Coast, prompting the Biden administration to take notice. get “the response of the whole government”. The Colonial Pipeline hack is just the latest example of criminal groups or state actors exploiting US cyber vulnerabilities. Last year, IT company SolarWinds’ software was breached, giving hackers access to communications and data within several government agencies. “We simply cannot let waiting for trouble next thing that happens is the status quo we are operating in,” an official told reporters during a conference call on the evening of May 12. Biden’s executive order takes several steps to modernize the nation’s cybersecurity: Require information technology service providers to notify the government of cybersecurity breaches that may affect U.S. networks and remove certain contractual barriers that may prevent providers from doing so. provide violations. Create a standardized guidebook and set of definitions for federal responses to cyber incidents. Push the federal government to upgrade to secure cloud services and other network infrastructure, and mandate multi-factor authentication and encryption for a specific period of time. Improve the security of software sold to the government, by requiring developers to publicly share certain confidential data. Establish a “Cybersecurity Review Board” composed of public and private sector officials, which may convene after cyber attacks to analyze the situation and make recommendations. Improve information sharing within the federal government by enacting a government-wide endpoint detection and response system. News of the President’s action came about an hour after Colonial announced it had restarted pipeline operations, although it would take several days for fuel deliveries to return to normal. “Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as possible and will continue to do so until the market returns to normal,” the statement also thanked the Biden administration “for its leadership and their cooperation”. https://kinhtexaydung.petrotimes.vn

Source: NYT After years of delays, the federal government approved the third offshore wind project in the US – and the biggest to date. The “Vineyard Wind” project consists of 84 giant turbines that will be built about 19 km from the Vineyard and Nantucket islands off the coast of Massachusetts. Vineyard Wind will have 800 Megawatts of generating capacity, outperforming Block Island Wind’s 30 MW and output from two test turbines installed in Virginia. According to the US Department of the Interior, this project, after going into operation in 2023, will generate enough energy to supply 400,000 homes and businesses. “Vineyard Wind” is a joint project between the energy company Avangrid Renewables and the Copenhagen Infrastructure Construction Company. It is expected that, when operating at full capacity, the Vineyard Wind farm has a total investment of 2 billion USD, can generate 800 MW of electricity / day. The Joe Biden government has a target by 2030 to generate 30 gigawatts of wind power. Interior Minister Deb Haaland evaluated the US licensing for this project as an important step to achieve the set goals of creating more jobs, combating climate change and strengthening the country. The US currently operates a number of small-scale wind farms off the coast of Virginia and Rhode islands.

Despite increased lockdown and persistently high incidence rates, the federal government expects higher economic growth this year than before. In his spring projection presented in the morning, Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier is now assuming an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.5 percent. In January he had estimated a mere 3.0 percent. An increase of 3.6 percent is expected for 2022. “We will have regained our old strengths by 2022 at the latest,” said Altmaier. “Our economy is strong, robust and ready for a new start.” Last year it fell by 4.9 percent because of the Corona crisis.

Export is the mainstay

Nevertheless, Germany lags behind the USA and most of its European neighbors. The US economy is likely to grow by 6.5 percent this year, while France, Italy and Spain each expect an increase of between five and six percent. The recovery in Germany is said to be supported primarily by exports. These are expected to grow by 9.2 percent in view of the rapid recovery in important sales markets such as the USA and China. As a result, the ministry expects higher investments. “Catch-up effects also play a role, as investments have been postponed because of the crisis,” it said. The construction boom is also likely to continue, “due to the low interest rate environment and high demand for housing”.

Export expectations at a ten-year high

The hopes for the export industry in particular are justified. German exporters are currently as optimistic as they were last in January 2011. The barometer for industry’s export expectations climbed by 0.8 to 24.6 points in April, according to a recent survey by the Munich Ifo Institute. “In many countries, industry is hardly affected by the pandemic,” said Ifo President Clemens Fuest. “The demand for German export goods will benefit significantly from this.” The upswing in the USA and China, the most important export customers, is providing a boost. According to the ifo data, the outlook has improved across almost all branches of industry. In the electrical industry, expectations are very optimistic. In mechanical engineering, too, the indicator rose to its highest value in more than a decade; the chemical industry is also on the upswing. “The only problem children are manufacturers of clothing and other vehicle construction,” it said. “You are expecting a decline in foreign sales.”

The domestic economy is only slowly gaining momentum

The gradual easing of the corona restrictions should also gradually give the domestic economy and private consumer spending a boost. After the difficult start to the year, the labor market is expected to gradually pick up. Nevertheless, there is likely to be a decrease in the number of people in employment by 60,000 in 2021. An increase in employment of 290,000 is to follow in 2022. Altmaier’s optimism about the economy is shared by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. “The third corona wave is currently requiring all of us to make another great effort,” said the SPD candidate for chancellor. “Nevertheless, it is clear: things are slowly improving and the aid policy is working.” The council of experts for assessing macroeconomic developments, colloquially known as the “economic methods”, is significantly more pessimistic than the government. The committee had only revised its forecast downwards two weeks ago and is only expecting an increase in gross domestic product of 3.1 percent for 2021. In the autumn, the economic wise men had assumed 3.7 percent.

The Federal Council has allowed the nationwide Corona “emergency brake” to pass. The state chamber did not object to the change in the Infection Protection Act, as President Reiner Haseloff announced. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier signed the law, after which it was published in the Federal Law Gazette. In the special session of the Federal Council, however, there was considerable criticism of the bill. The Prime Ministers expressed constitutional concerns and saw problems with the practical implementation. It was also criticized that the federal government had not taken into account the experiences of the states in fighting pandemics.

“Low point of federal culture”

Haseloff himself sharply criticized the transfer of competencies to the federal government. “Today is a low point for me in the federal culture of the Federal Republic of Germany,” said the CDU politician and Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt. The regional chamber is advising on a law “the creation, design and result of which are unsatisfactory”. The Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) said: “Whether this shift of competence to the federal level represents a more effective way of fighting a pandemic, this proof has not yet been produced. And it has to be produced.” Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) described the rigid exit restrictions as “constitutionally problematic”. There is also the question of how, for example, the planned school closings should be implemented. Lower Saxony’s head of government Stephan Weil (SPD) said the new regulations were “not a big hit”. For his country, the law even means considerable opportunities for relaxation. His assessment: “For my country unnecessary, but I would add: also harmless.” Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn, on the other hand, again promoted the law at the meeting and returned the ball to the federal states. “Since the beginning of March, the instruments have all been named, written down, actually agreed and united, including the exit restrictions,” said the CDU politician. “And we have to be honest: Although the federal and state governments want the same thing, many have got the impression that we have not been pulling in the same direction in the last few weeks.” The unified action, so the impression, has been lost. The law is “the result of all these developments”.

Curfew if the incidence is over 100

The “emergency brake” was decided by the Bundestag yesterday. Despite extensive criticism from the opposition, the majority passed the changes in the Infection Protection Act and thus created the legal basis for implementation. According to the new regulation, if there is a seven-day incidence of 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in a district or a city, people are generally no longer allowed to leave their own apartment or property after 10 p.m. Walking and jogging alone are allowed until midnight. Shops are only allowed to open to customers who present a negative corona test and have booked an appointment. From an incidence of 150, only the collection of ordered goods should be possible. Classroom teaching in schools should be stopped from an incidence of 165, exceptions for final classes remain possible. The law is a so-called objection law. This means that the approval of the Federal Council is not necessary. However, the regional chamber could have called the mediation committee and thus delayed the law.

First urgent application received in Karlsruhe

Even before the vote in the Federal Council, the first urgent motion against the “emergency brake” was received by the Federal Constitutional Court. A lawyer announced that he had lodged a constitutional complaint. His main concern is that the law largely removes the measures from (administrative) judicial control, that the incidence value is unsuitable as the sole benchmark and that exit restrictions in particular are disproportionate. The Free Voters also announced that they wanted to take action against the “emergency brake” with a double constitutional complaint. So they are initially against the night curfew. With a second complaint, they want to bring down the planned rule for the trade. Already yesterday, FDP leader Christian Lindner announced a constitutional complaint about the curfew.

With the federal government canceling an agreement related to the Victoria State’s “Belt and Road” initiative, Australia-China relations are worse than ever (Photo: Multidimensional). According to the news site Multi-Dimensional (Dwnews) April 23, citing AFP on the same day, said US State Department spokesman Ned Price on April 22 announced his solidarity, claiming that Australia is facing China’s “forced diplomacy”. , said the Australian government had made its own decision, but because it suffered greatly from Beijing’s actions. “We will continue to stand side by side with the Australian people as they are the leaders facing the coercive actions of the People’s Republic of China,” Ned Price told reporters. Mr. Ned Price, spokesperson for the US State Department (Photo: Dong Phuong). Australia has shown that these “Belt and Road” agreements are inconsistent with Australian foreign policy. China warned that Australia’s withdrawal from the agreement would seriously damage the relations between the two countries. According to previous reports, the Australian government announced on April 21 that it would cancel Victoria’s four foreign agreements, including two related to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. These two agreements were signed between the Victorian government and China’s National Development and Reform Commission. One of them is a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2018 and the other is a framework agreement signed in October 2019. The Chinese Embassy in Canberra criticized the move as an “unreasonable provocation”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Uong Van Ban also responded saying that China expressed strong resentment and firmly opposed it, had “strict relations” with Australia and China reserved the right to respond. more in-depth on this. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Penn announced the cancellation of two agreements related to “Belt and road” Victoria signed with China (Image: Reuters). In this case, Australian female Foreign Minister Marise Payne replied: “This plan is very relevant to the national interests of Australia. This action (canceling the two agreements) to ensure consistency in foreign relations. We are all over Australia and it certainly is not aimed at any country. ” She expressed Australia’s efforts to contact China and “requires all governments around the world to respect our government’s decision-making authority”. On April 22, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also stated that the cancellation of the related agreement was because the federal government did not want the agreements signed by other authorities to go against Australia’s foreign policy. He said the government has always acted in the national interests of Australia to protect Australia, but must also ensure that in promoting national interests, the government can be in an Indo-Pacific region itself. be free and open and be in a world that seeks a balance in favor of freedom. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison: the cancellation of the related agreement is due to the federal government’s unwillingness to have the agreements signed by other authorities go against Australia’s foreign policy (Photo: AP). On the Chinese side’s response, the news site Multidimensional give details: At a regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs taking place on the afternoon of April 22 in Beijing, a reporter asked: “Recently, the Australian government announced the rejection of the cooperation agreement” The Belt and Road “was signed by the Victorian government with the National Development and Reform Commission of China. Please ask what China has to comment on this? “. Mr. Uong Van Ban, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China replied: “Australia’s Victoria has decided to cooperate with China within the framework of the“ Belt and Road ”initiative to improve the welfare of the people. people from both sides. This is inherently a mutually beneficial affair. The Australian Government has unreasonably vetoed the “Belt and Road” cooperation agreement signed between the Victorian Government and China; arbitrary interference undermines normal exchanges of cooperation, seriously harms China-Australia relations and mutual trust. Mr. Uong Van Ban said, “China expressed strong resentment and strongly opposed it and had strict relations with Australia, China reserved the right to make a deeper response to this.” China urged Australia to give up Cold War thinking and ideological stereotypes, treat Sino-Australian cooperation objectively and soberly, and immediately correct mistakes. make mistakes, change directions, do not go further on the wrong path, do not make the China-Australia relationship that is in serious difficulty worse. ” Mr. Uong Van Ban: China expressed strong resentment and strongly opposed it and has strictly interacted with Australia, China reserves the right to give deeper reactions (Photo: Orient). At the same time, the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Australia also stated that China expressed strong dissatisfaction and firmly opposed the Australian Foreign Minister’s announcement on April 21 announcing the cancellation of the memorandum and agreement. Framework for the “Belt and Road” initiative was signed between China and the Victorian government. “Australia’s move is yet another irrational provocation against China,” said the Chinese embassy spokesman. It once again shows that Australia is not sincere in improving China – Australia relations, which will definitely cause more damage to the bilateral relationship, the country will definitely carry stones for its feet “. In Australia’s mainstream media, Secretary of State Marise Payne’s actions began to receive a positive response. Sheet Canberra Times published an article saying that Australia’s actions “made China ache” and that Victoria’s was seen as “against the interests of the country” in the eyes of Canberra officials. Sheet Sydney Morning Herald also criticized the fact that before signing with China, Victoria did not report to the federal government. The Century points out that Australia has become the first country to “tear” agreements related to the “Belt and Road” initiative. Last year China imposed a 212% punitive tax on Australian wines (Image: Getty). According to the Seventh News Network Australia’s move to “cancel” the deal was made after weighing more than 1,000 deals. The four deals that Secretary Payne tore off resemble Australia’s ruling Liberal strategy against the opposition Labor Party. The article called the move a “blow” against Victoria’s Labor governor Daniel Andrews. Nineth News Network Marise Penn, based in South Australia, revealed that Marise Penn went to Sydney to speak after announcing the cancellation of the deal, saying that the Australian side is still in contact with China. This represents a significant contrast to her statement on April 13 that “it is necessary to deal with China’s underground war”. For now, some analysts in Australia are pessimistic about the prospects. For example, Eryk Bagshaw, economic correspondent of the The Century , said that when Australia leads the “fight against China” trend, at least six major industries, including iron ore, worth at least 20 billion USD, will be hit hard, traders Australian imports and exports will have to pay the price. In October 2020, Australia allowed naval ships to participate in joint exercises with the US and Japan in the South China Sea, making China dissatisfied. There are also some Australian scholars and businessmen who remain optimistic about the status quo. For example, Roland Rajah, the lead economist at Lowy Institute, an Australian consulting organization, published an article on April 22 in the newspaper. The Century and Sydney Morning Herald “Why does our economy accept the veto of the agreement related to the Belt and Road initiative”, saying that Beijing’s sanctions against Australia are still limited to a relatively small scope, for example such as barley, beef, copper ore and coal. China will not cut off purchases of major Australian commodities such as iron ore and natural gas. After large commodity trade between China and Australia continued and small items shipped to other exporters, Australia was able to recover under Chinese “sanctions”.

Illustration. Source: Internet According to the US Federal Revenue Service (IRS), virtual currency needs to be taxed as an asset. When using virtual currency to trade, it also means that this type of asset is being sold. On the other hand, if the user is paid in bitcoins then that amount is valued as a taxable revenue. Almost every cryptocurrency transaction is taxable and requires registration. Despite the fact that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are virtual, they have a sizable impact on taxes in practice. Tax debtors will incur both interest and penalties, possibly even criminal prosecution in some cases. How does the IRS control the virtual currency tax? According to Mark Luscombe – a federal tax analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, any business transactions over $ 600, whether issued to a non-employee or paid to an employee are required to be reported to the IRS. Additionally, at each individual income tax return, any federal taxpayer must honestly answer the question: “At any time in 2020, have received, sold, sent, or exchanged Or is there a financial gain in any virtual currency? “. Together with the US Department of Justice, the tax authorities are taking measures to ensure that people comply with regulations on taxes. The IRS has launched a “virtual currency tax compliance” campaign aimed at reaching and inspecting taxpayers extensively. In addition, the IRS sent documents to 10,000 people to remind citizens of their crypto-related tax obligations, urge them to check and revise their previous declarations if they owe taxes, interest or penalties. . States of the United States have tax electronic money transactions are not ? Cryptocurrency transactions in the US can be taxed. Most states do not have specific crypto legislation, meaning the majority of states will comply with the federal lead in income tax regulations. Any money people make from crypto investments or income payments will count towards the total personal income. Most states use the AGI (an individual’s gross income adjusted for allowable discounts) that federally regulates do. Cryptocurrency transactions continue to be taxed in 2021 By 2021, crypto dealers must report all of their business profits and losses. The tax on virtual currency will depend on the difference between a person’s virtual investment and earnings. If your virtual currency investment increases in value by the time the asset is sold, your earnings will be taxed as regular income. If the investment period is longer than one year, it is subject to capital gains tax. In addition, there is a loss on the sale, the loss of fixed capital can be offset by the gains that are incurred in other investments. The difference when using virtual money to pay Using bitcoin to pay also means that users are selling this property. Trading in bitcoin is likely to receive profit or loss in return. The IRS notes that Bitcoin’s rate is not anchored to any other currency, but entirely dependent on market supply and demand. Bitcoin is currently one of the purest free-market assets because it is freely traded in huge volumes globally without any control. Unlike credit cards, the cost of sending Bitcoin is completely voluntary by the sender (not the receiver). The higher the fee for sending Bitcoin, the more pre-processed the transaction is by the network. The fee for paying in Bitcoin is much cheaper than paying by credit card or wire transfer. The cost of sending money through Bitcoin is independent of the number of deposits, making Bitcoin very attractive to those who want to send money in bulk.

At present, large banks have begun to deploy, and some leading financial technology companies such as Suoxinda Holdings Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Suoxinda, stock code: 03680.HK) have also entered the federal learning application. So what are the problems facing the large-scale implementation of federal learning in the financial industry? How to solve?

Banks “get together” federal study

“At present, some leading banks have begun to commercialize federal learning. For example, the recruitment of suppliers has begun. With the leading role of leading banks in the future, the trend of large-scale implementation of privacy computing technology in the financial industry is very obvious.” Dr. Shao Jun, a data scientist and senior researcher of Federal Learning of Suoxinda Holdings (stock code: 03680.HK) mentioned.

According to Xu Zhen, the application scenarios of federated learning in the industry are very large, which is equivalent to a data Taobao. It is expected that more federated learning-related infrastructure will be launched this year.

According to Dr. Shao Jun, a data scientist at Suoxinda Holdings and a senior researcher at Federated Learning, privacy computing is a computing theory and method for the full life cycle protection of private information. Specifically, it refers to the processing of video, audio, image, graphics, text, numerical value, and When ubiquitous network behavior information flow and other information, the private information involved is described, measured, evaluated, and fused to form a set of symbolic, formulaic, and quantitative evaluation standards for privacy calculation theories, algorithms and application technologies. Support the protection of privacy information of multiple systems integration. Federated learning is a type of privacy computing technology, a solution for machine learning and artificial intelligence to face more stringent data management regulations.

According to the “Federal Learning White Paper” released by Suoxinda Holdings, through compliant multi-dimensional federal data modeling, the effect of the risk control model can usually be improved by approximately 12% , Consumer finance enterprises and institutions have effectively saved credit review costs, and overall costs are expected to drop 5%-10% , And due to the increase and enrichment of data samples, the risk control ability is further enhanced.

The white paper mentioned that the core feature of federated learning is that all participating parties conduct joint data training without transferring their own data, so as to achieve the goal of joint modeling.

At present, federated learning has made progress in some key financial fields, such as smart risk control scenarios and privacy protection scenarios.

Dr. Shao Jun specifically stated that based on the multi-party security knowledge graph, it is possible to calculate financing service projects for small, medium and micro enterprises. Through the integration of graph computing and secure computing technology, cross-institutional (such as banks and operators) data can be realized under the conditions of protecting their respective data. Secure integration, build a joint relationship graph, break the data boundary of graph calculation, and identify more complex and comprehensive relationship chains and fraud risks.

In terms of privacy protection, it uses multi-party secure computing and image recognition technology to effectively verify the identity of merchants and cashiers, solves the management loopholes caused by equipment and manual verification in traditional acquiring management, and protects the privacy of merchants and cashiers. Effectively improve the risk control capabilities of acquiring institutions in anti-fraud and anti-money laundering on the basis of this, and reduce operating costs of acquiring institutions.

What is the difficulty of large-scale landing?

Compared with other fields, the financial field has stricter data control, so in the actual landing process, it always faces various problems.

“The realization of bridging between different privacy computing platforms has become an inevitable trend in the new situation. Different organizations apply different forms of privacy computing technology in different business scenarios; it will gradually form new data barriers that are actually difficult to connect. Therefore, searching for possible bridging agreements or even bridging platforms between different technology platforms will become a future demand.” Dr. Shao Jun from Suoxinda Holding said: “The common horizontal federated learning model is the most common and easy to achieve interconnection. Interoperability considers the joint modeling direction, but the interconnection of vertical federated learning is the main breakthrough point. Federal transfer learning itself can expand unlimited possibilities for future application scenarios.”

Regarding whether privacy computing technology can be implemented on a large scale in the financial industry in the future. Dr. Shao Jun from Suoxinda Holdings analyzed that, at present, every business line and related system in the financial field is undergoing digital transformation, and cross-departmental and even cross-institutional data circulation has become a rigid demand. As the awareness of privacy and security protection is increasing, data circulation is bound to require the support of privacy computing technology.

Speaking of difficulties in landing, Dr. Shao Jun said that there are currently a large number of small and medium-sized banks in my country, but such banks have limited technological capabilities, and have invested a lot in the preliminary construction of financial technology, and related projects have a long cycle. In addition, the market supervision of privacy computing products needs to be further improved. For privacy calculations, financial institutions should transform from passively accepting requirements to actively implementing financial-related products.

In response to the bottleneck of landing applications, Dr. Shao Jun, a data scientist at Suoxinda Holdings and a senior researcher at Federated Learning, pointed out that the first problem is efficiency. At present, large-scale general-purpose calculations cannot be done, only some simple calculations; secondly, security is due to privacy. It is difficult to quantify, and how to prove safety and how to evaluate needs to be further resolved. In addition, in addition to technology, there are more factors to consider. Such as compliance issues, how to define product attributes, and how to be recognized and supervised by relevant agencies are all issues that need to be considered.

The people in large parts of Germany have to adjust to exit restrictions and closed shops according to nationally binding guidelines. The Federal Cabinet has decided to change the Infection Protection Act accordingly. However, the Bundestag does not want to pass the so-called Corona emergency brake in a fast-track process – it learned that ARD capital studio from coalition circles. Accordingly, the parliamentary groups do not want to waive certain deliberation deadlines, which is possible in principle and which would have made it possible for a parliamentary resolution to be passed this week. The amendment to the Infection Protection Act includes, among other things, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. if the seven-day incidence is over 100 on three consecutive days in a rural district or urban district. This means that within a week there are more than 100 newly infected people for every 100,000 inhabitants. In these cases, members of a household are only allowed to meet with one other person. A maximum of five people can come together, not including children under 14 years of age.

Requirements for shop closings

The opening of cultural and leisure facilities such as theaters, museums or zoos will then be prohibited, as will accommodation offers for tourist purposes. Shops that do not serve daily needs also have to close again. Food retailers, beverage stores, health food stores, baby specialty stores, pharmacies, medical supply stores, drug stores, opticians, hearing aid acousticians, gas stations, newspaper sales outlets, bookstores, flower shops, pet stores, animal feed markets and garden centers are to be excluded. According to the resolution, services that serve medical, therapeutic, nursing or pastoral purposes as well as hairdressers – each with a mask – should be opened. The practice of sport should only be allowed in the form of contactless practice of individual sports. They should be allowed to be exercised alone, in pairs or with members of your own household. There are also exceptions for the competition and training operations of professional athletes and competitive athletes of the national and state squads, but only without spectators.

For schools incidence of 200 relevant

Precise lessons should only be permitted with two corona tests per week. The schools do not have to stop their face-to-face teaching, however, if the incidence value of 200 cases has been exceeded for three consecutive days. This also applies to vocational schools, universities, adult education institutions and similar institutions. Exceptions for graduating classes and special needs schools are possible. The brake also applies to daycare centers, but the federal states can enable emergency care. The cabinet also decided to increase the paid childhood days per parent from the current 20 to 30 days. Parents can also take advantage of these childhood illness days to look after their children when schools and daycare centers are closed.

Merkel: “Ambiguities are over”

Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the planned federal law in a statement: The nationwide uniform “emergency brake” was “overdue”. It is true that the citizens understand that measures differ from region to region. According to the Chancellor, however, ambiguities about “what, when and where” will be a thing of the past with the new legal regulation. With the new law, the “emergency brake” is no longer a “matter of interpretation”. The decision on the law is an “equally important and urgent decision on how to proceed in the corona pandemic”. Merkel emphasized once again that the situation was serious and that everyone should take it seriously. “We mustn’t abandon the doctors and nurses who have been giving everything for over a year, we have to help them.” All measures would have the “only goal of leading our whole country out of the phase of steadily increasing numbers of infections, the filling intensive care units and the shockingly high daily number of corona deaths.” Merkel thanked the citizens for “their patience, insight and care for others”. “We have already managed to bring the numbers down to a controllable level and we will do that again,” said the Chancellor. The cabinet proposal is then to be discussed in the coalition groups. The new rules should then be decided by the Bundestag in an accelerated procedure, if possible, and passed through the Bundesrat. However, the express consent of the regional chamber is not required. At most, the Federal Council could raise an objection.

The law is to apply for a limited period of time

Overall, the amendment to the law should only apply for the duration of the determination by the Bundestag of an epidemic situation of national significance. This is currently June 30th.

From Claudia Kornmeier, ARD legal editors

Can the federal government issue corona rules?

Yes, he can. Because the legislative competence for infection protection lies with the federal government. According to Article 74, Paragraph 1, No. 19, the “measures against publicly dangerous and communicable diseases” are a federal matter. The federal states are only responsible if the federal government has not regulated anything. So far, the federal government had set a certain framework, but then authorized the states to decide specifically which measures should be taken to combat the pandemic. That is why the corona rules have so far mainly been issued by the federal states by ordinance. But that should change now.

Could the federal government lay down even more corona rules?

Yes. The Bundestag could stipulate further concrete measures directly in the Infection Protection Act. However, it is also planned that the Infection Protection Act will in future also allow the federal government to take further measures for all of Germany by ordinance. Corona measures can be adjusted a little faster and more flexibly via statutory ordinance than in a legislative procedure.

To what extent does the Federal Council have to be involved in the reform?

The federal states are involved in the legislative process at federal level through the Bundesrat. There are laws that the Federal Council must approve in order for them to come into force. The Land Chamber can only appeal against the majority of the laws. Then a mediation committee has to be convened. In this way, a legislative process can at least be delayed. According to the Basic Law, the approval of the Federal Council is not required for protection against infection. The federal government also assumes that the current law is merely an “objection law”. However, it is controversial as to what applies when infection protection, for example, coincides with the issue of education, for example when schools are closed. Because the federal states are responsible for education. And with previous changes, the Infection Protection Act was also viewed as an approval act.

Is a curfew legally permissible?

Whether curfews are proportionate is very controversial. Critics doubt that such restrictions are even suitable for containing the infection rate. If you go for a walk alone at night, you don’t risk any infections. However, exit restrictions are more about preventing inadmissible private meetings. If you have to be home by 9 p.m., you may not even have dinner with a group of friends. In the past there were already comparable exit restrictions in some federal states. Some of them were overturned by the courts. Some courts have also questioned the effectiveness of exit restrictions. In other cases, exit restrictions were also overturned because the seven-day incidence was low at the time and continued to fall. However, the legislature also has a certain amount of leeway. In the explanatory memorandum for the law, the Federal Government expressly refers to experience in other countries and scientific studies. It may well be that the currently planned regulation will ultimately end up with the Federal Constitutional Court.

Who can overturn these new rules?

Only the Federal Constitutional Court can overturn the planned statutory rules. The corona regulations of the federal states, on the other hand, can be attacked before the administrative courts. If there are federal ordinances, things will look a little more complicated. In these cases, too, one could first sue the administrative courts. Filing a constitutional complaint directly could also be permissible. However, the hurdles are high.