International aid programme for business start-ups 5. August 2007 by Thomas Jannot A survey among more than 6700 companies conducted by the »Enterpreneurs’ Organization« (EO) revealed that most companies fail within the first two years after their foundation. In order to help entrepreneurs to cope with initial entrepreneurial problems Mercedes Benz Financial, which is the American business division of DaimlerChrysler Financial Services, and the EO have launched …
Falling unemployment rate in the EU 3. August 2007 by Thomas Jannot The unemployment rate in the EU hit a new record low in June: According to Eurostat which is the EU’s Statistical Office there were 6.9% of EU citizens without a job. In May the unemployment rate had still stood at 7% and in June 2006 even at 7.9%.
One third of Germans use online services provided by public authorities 31. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot Communication with public authorities over the internet is becoming more and more popular. According to the German Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) 32% of all Germans aged between 16 and 74 used online services provided by public authorities in the year 2006 such as downloading documents or filling in forms online. …
Many German managers do not receive any bonuses 31. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot Almost 60% of German managers have never received any gratification. This was revealed in the course of a survey conducted by the StepStone online job market. Just 28% of German executives and specialists said to have contractual gratifications agreed upon with their employers. Another 14% said to receive gratifications on an irregular basis in case …
SMEs important drivers of economic growth in China 30. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot Small and medium-sized entities are contributing the lion share to economic growth also in China. They produce 68% of all Chinese exports which is much more than in other countries. Given that Chinese exports are growing twice as much as the Chinese economy as a whole, small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) generate the lion share …
China takes over from Germany as export world champion 30. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot According to the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) German exports will increase by just 8% in 2007 (after 14% in 2006). For 2008 experts forecast an increase by 9% and an export value exceeding one trillion Euros. However, China is set to take over from Germany as the world’s leading exporting …
Half of all SMEs consider rating to be useful 30. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot Opinions on credit assessments which were introduced in the course of Basel II are divided among German small and medium-sized entities (SMEs). The »MIND – SMEs in Germany« study which is regularly conducted by the Deutsche Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV) and the »impulse« business magazine revealed that fifty percent of the more than 500 company …
New EU-wide legal form for proprietary company 30. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot Proprietary companies are to be defined in a uniform way throughout the EU. Therefore the European Commission considers the introduction of uniform rules and regulations for the „European proprietary company«. The new legal form is to facilitate cross-border business in particular to small and medium-sized entities.
Consumer prices rose considerably in July 2007 30. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot According to the Federal Statistical Office the German consumer price index for Germany will probably rise by 1.9% in July this year as compared to July 2006. In June this year the annual increase was 1.8%. As compared to June 2007 prices rose by 0.4% in July 2007.
Manager salaries to be checked more 30. July 2007 by Thomas Jannot The EU Commission advocates more involvement of shareholders in determining the salaries of top managers. In this context two reports were presented which both come to the conclusion that even though corporate governance standards are being applied they are not used frequently enough.