Twelve EU countries increased minimum wages 30. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot According to the WSI Institute which is part of the union-friendly Hans-Böckler foundation, 20 of the 27 EU member states have statutory minimum wages. 12 of these countries have increased the minimum wage since the beginning of 2008.
Collective wages and salaries increased more in 2007 than in previous years 29. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot As was reported by the Federal Statistical Office, collective salaries of employees increased by 2.0% on average in the year 2007. This is the biggest increase since 2004. Collective hourly wages of workers even increased by 2.5% which is the biggest increase since 2003. For comparison, consumer prices increased by 2.2% on average in 2007.
EU-wide SEPA money transfer system launched 29. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot For companies operating in Europe yesterday was a good day: the EU-wide SEPA system (Single Euro Payments Area) was launched. As a consequence, money transfers within Europe will not only be carried out as quickly as transfers within Germany but also become less expensive. Another informations: Cashless payments in Europe easier and cheaper
Germany has the potential to stay leading exporting country 29. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot Many people believe that China is going to become the world´s next leading exporting country. The important question is when this is going to happen. As soon as 2008 Germany may lose its title as “export world champion” to China. In order to avoid this, the German export economy has to use its potential more …
Mixed feelings among German consumers 28. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot In the course of their current consumption climate study, the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) found out that the feelings of German consumers are mixed at the beginning of this year. While the indicators with regard to economic prospects and propensity to buy were increasing, the indicator for income prospects was falling in comparison with the …
20% earning less than 7.50 an hour in East Germany 28. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot The unions and the German Left are currently calling for a minimum wage of 7.50 Euro an hour. A study carried out by the “Socio-economic Panel” at the Institute for Economic Research in Halle (IWH) showed that in the year 2006 almost 20% of employees in East Germany and about 8 percent in the West …
German online purchasers rank 4th in Europe 27. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot Online shopping is becoming more and more popular. In the year 2007 the number of Germans ordering goods or services over the internet amounted to 41%. In 2006 this percentage was 38%. Thus, in this respect Germany ranks 4th in the EU. This was announced by the German Association of Information Management, Telecommunications and New …
Managers support company founders 25. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot Researchers wishing to set up their own businesses are experts in their respective fields, but may lack the necessary business knowledge. In the course of the “Fraunhofer promotes management” programme which is supported by the Federal ministry for education and research (BMBF) the venture group of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is going to support research company founders …
SME barometer signals optimism 25. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot The most important finding of a survey carried out by the Deutsche Mittelstands Barometer (DMB) is that small and medium-sized entities are optimistic about the year 2008 and expect more employment. Thus, the positive feeling among SMEs is to continue and will further boost the labour market over the months to come. However, this positive …
Dramatical lowering of US key interest rate to 3.5% 25. January 2008 by Thomas Jannot A similar step has not been taken in 16 years: The US Federal Reserve (FED) in one go lowered the key interest rate by 75 basic points from 4.25% to 3.5%. Another lowering by 25 basic points next week is expected by many analysts.