50th anniversary of Treaties of Rome 3. February 2007 by Thomas Jannot A Europe consisting of many national markets would be economically unthinkable today. Yet, the history of the European single market is just half a century old. Not always did everything go smoothly, but besides justified criticism about the administrative insuffiencies achievements and merits are often forgotten. The Treaties of Rome, which are the basis of …
Poor customer service easily goes the round in Germany 3. February 2007 by Thomas Jannot Poor customer service has always and everywhere led to a damaged image. As was demonstrated by a survey conducted by the internet provider Easynet, German customers are particular sensitive in this respect. If there are problems with their service providers, 55% of Germans will inform their colleagues about these problems.
Biggest tender to contract in the history of EU research sponsorship launched 3. February 2007 by Thomas Jannot The EU is looking for research projects in the field of information and communications technologies (ICT). Proposals should be submitted no later than May 8th 2007. This year the projects in question will be sponsored by the EU Commission with 1.2 billion Euros. According to the Commission this year´s tender to contract (TTC) is the …
3.8 billion Euros worth of inheritance and gift tax 1. February 2007 by Thomas Jannot In addition to yesterday´s ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court (we reported on this) there is an interesting figure published by the Federal Statistical Office: the inheritance and gift tax base amounted to 3.8 billion Euros in the year 2006. Almost half of it came from North Rhine-Westphalia (851 million Euros) and Bavaria (838 million …
Families are the better bosses 1. February 2007 by Thomas Jannot In the long run family-owned enterprises generate more revenue and are more profitable than companies owned by many individual shareholders. This is a fact confirmed by a competent source: it is the finding of a recent study conducted by the Credit Suisse bank. According to the study, the shares of European companies, which are owned …
Join the Innovation Prize 2007 competition now 1. February 2007 by Thomas Jannot As of today small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) may apply for the Innovation Prize 2007 endowed by the Initiative Mittelstand. The competition is to identify those innovative products which distinguish themselves by a particular usefulness and high functionality for all kinds of small and medium-sized entities. Winners will be awarded with numerous prizes relating to …
CeBIT co-operation forum for companies and researchers 31. January 2007 by Thomas Jannot The CeBIT exhibition has always been instrumental in bringing together business and research. Thus, the Innovation Relay Centre (IRC) Future Match is the perfect solution to companies and research institutes specifically looking for technical co-operations in Europe. In the course of the CeBIT exhibition this forum will enable people to make first personal contacts with …
New test reveals penchant for theft and fraud 31. January 2007 by Thomas Jannot Bad times for bad guys: a penchant for corruption, theft and fraud at the workplace can be measured according to the Department of Forensic Psychology at the Technical University in Darmstadt. This is the finding of several tests carried out in co-operation with the University of Regensburg and the »Team Psychologie & Sicherheit» consulting firm …
Asset Backed Securities as a way of non-bank financing 30. January 2007 by Thomas Jannot As soon as 30 years ago Asset Backed Securities (ABS) were introduced in the USA as financial instruments. As late as 1998 they also appeared on the financial markets in Germany. The fact that ABS open up new opportunities for financing which does not depend on banks has recently been recognized in particular by housebuilding …
PC and video games market amounting to 1.77 billion Euros 30. January 2007 by Thomas Jannot The market for computer and video games and paddles hit a new record high in 2006. In Germany turnover increased to 1.77 billion Euros which is 13% more than in 2005 (1.57 billion Euros). This is the finding of the »Digital games in Germany – trends and perspectives for 2007» study conducted jointly by the …