Сonsumers and workforce become older and older in Germany 11. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot While in the year 2006 fifty percent of the German population was younger than 42 years of age, by the year 2025 half of the German population will by older than 47 and in the eastern regions of Germany even older than 53 years of age. These are the findings of a new study on …
Biggest increase in labour costs in five years 10. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot Businesses and public services in Germany paid 2.0% more per working hour in the third quarter this year than in the third quarter 2007. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this is the biggest increase in five years. Compared to the second quarter 2008, labour costs increased by 1.1% after adjustments for season and calendar. …
Turnover in processing industry continues falling 9. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot According to preliminary figures by the Federal Statistical Office, turnover generated by the German processing industry was down in October this year as compared to October 2007. The decrease amounted to -3.3% (following -2.4% in September). Turnover generated in Germany fell by 2.2% since October last year, that generated through exports by 4.5%. Turnover generated …
Number of consumer insolvencies increasing 9. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of consumer insolvencies increased by 5.7% to 8,312 cases in September this year. The number of business insolvencies, on the other hand, fell by 0.5% to 13,115. Unsettled claims by creditors amounted to 2.8 billion Euros as compared to 2.2 billion Euros in September 2007.
220 million Euros of turnover generated through downloads 8. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot In 2008 an enormous amount of files containing music, games, videos, audio books and software was legally purchased over the internet and downloaded. By the end of this year this number is to reach 49 million which would be a new record. Turnover generated through these downloads would equal 220 million Euros which is 27% …
Protection of customer data insufficient 8. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot More than 60 percent of German companies do not sufficiently protect their clients´ data. Only a minority of 37% secures the transactions of their clients over the internet and just 36% encode their online data exchange. Therefore, the situation has hardly changed since last year. These are the finding of the “IT-Security 2008” survey which …
Munich more expensive for expatriates than London 5. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot According to a study by the ECA International personnel consultancy, the worldwide financial crisis severely affects the living quality of employees working abroad. This study revealed unexpected shifts in certain city rankings. Thus, life is currently more expensive in Munich than in London which is known for extremely high prices. The most expensive city in …
GDP of EU27 falling as well 5. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot The gross national product (GDP) of the Eurozone (EZ15) as well as that of the EU27 fell by 0.2% in the third quarter 2008 as compared to the second quarter. In the second quarter this year the GDP of the Eurozone had already fallen by 0.2% and that of the EU27 remained unchanged. In relation …
Retail trade sales down in Europe 4. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot According to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), turnover generated in retail sale trade in Europe decreased in the period from September to October 2008. In the Eurozone (EZ15) turnover fell by 0.8% and by 0.3% in the EU27. As compared to October last year the retail trade sales index fell by 2.1% (Eurozone) and by …
German SMEs more active on world markets than expected 3. December 2008 by Thomas Jannot In recent years small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) have been more active on international markets than thought so far. Furthermore, in the period from 2002 to 2006 they increased their average equity ratio from 19.0% to 23.9% thereby improving their credit worthiness. These are the most important findings of the “KfW-Mittelstandspanel 2008” by the KfW …