Two thirds work with computers 3. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot An ever growing number of people use computers at work. In Germany the percentage of people using computers in the workplace increased from 56% (2006) to 61% (2007). The German Association for Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) thinks that this is a good sign given that the use of computers enhances productivity and …
Happy New Year! 31. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot The last invoices are written. The financial accounts can now be closed. We already informed our readers about how the MittelstandsWiki and its journals fared in 2007 and we will tell our readers about our plans for 2008 over the days to come. But we can assure you right now that MittelstandsWiki will take part …
One out of three companies not prepared for tax reform 31. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot Even though a corporate tax reform will take effect shortly, one third of German small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) are not adequately prepared. Important changes such as a decreased tax burden or changes with regard to depreciation are unknown. This finding was revealed through an online survey in which about 1000 SMEs participated over the …
German companies allegedly little environmentally aware 29. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot The findings of a study conducted by Easynet und TNS Infratest claim that environmental protection is not among the top priorities of German companies. In the course of the study about 4500 employees from all parts of Europe were interviewed on the most important business objectives of their employers. Thus, in a ranking listing eight …
Economic upswing to boost labour market in 2008 29. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot Several industrial sectors in Germany are quite optimistic for 2008. According to Prof. Michael Hüther, who is director of the Institute for the German Economy (IW) in Cologne, the findings of a recent study demonstrate that Germany is still benefiting from a flourishing world economy and from domestic demand. German trade associations are still in …
Economic freedom insufficient in Berlin 29. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot The Liberale Institut der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit recently presented the new edition of a study entitled “Economic freedom in Germany“. In this study which is based on the international “Economic Freedom of the World” comparative study the authors measure the extent of economic freedom enjoyed by German citizens. Criteria are among others the economic …
One fifth of retail traders sell online 24. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot According to the Federal Statistical Office, about 18% of all retail trade companies sold their products such as books, garment or electronic devices online in 2006. Thus, as compared to the year 2004 online sales increased by 7% in 2006. Retail traders on average generated about 10% of their total turnover online in 2006. Even …
78 percent of high-tech companies expect increased turnover in 2008 24. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot According to the German association for information management, telecommunications and new media (BITKOM), the German high-tech industry looks very optimistically ahead to the year 2008. A recent BITKOM survey revealed that 78% of companies expect more turnover for next year, 16% forecast sales to remain unchanged while just 6% forecast turnover to fall.
Order inflow up by 23.2 percent in main construction trade 21. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of incoming orders to German companies in the main construction trade (companies with at least 20 employees) increased by 23.2% in October 2007 as compared to October last year. Thus, incoming orders increased by 12.3% in building construction and by 35.5% in underground engineering. The strong overall …
Counseling available to SMEs over the internet 19. December 2007 by Thomas Jannot Quite often there is a lack of knowledge about rating according to Basel II in small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), and the decision making process for taking out a loan is therefore frequently deficient. The so-called rating counselor, which is a joint initiative by several business associations and the KfW Mittelstandsbank, is to provide information …