Credibility of managers comes first 4. July 2008 by Thomas Jannot While in the recent past some German top managers contributed a lot to compromising their credibility among the general public, it is this very characteristic which is most important in assessing the professional group of managers. A survey revealed that many top managers believe that credibility, optimism and responsibility are indispensable for doing business successfully.
Sharp price rise for air freight 3. July 2008 by Thomas Jannot Prices for air freight transport increased by on average 18.8% in the first quarter of 2008 as compared to the first quarter 2007. This is revealed by the new price index for air freight transport which was yesterday published for the first time by the Federal Statistical Office. Particularly sharply increased transport prices into the …
Expensive crude oil drives purchase prices to record high 3. July 2008 by Thomas Jannot All business forecasts indicate that prospects for the economy are currently quite pessimistic. And the NTC/BME purchase manager index is not an exception in this respect. In June it reached 52.6 points. This is the lowest index value since October 2007 and one point less than in May this year. Nevertheless, this value still indicates …
Unemployment in Eurozone at 7.2% 2. July 2008 by Thomas Jannot In contrast to Germany, unemployment did not decrease in Europe in May 2008. In the Eurozone (EZ15) it remained unchanged as compared to April at 7.2% after adjustments for season. Compared to May 2007, however, it slightly fell by 0.3%. In the EU27 unemployment amounted to 6.8% (following 6.7% in April) while in May last …
Compliance regulations cost IT departments a lot of time 1. July 2008 by Thomas Jannot In 25% of German companies between 11 and 30% of the work time is spent on fulfilling legal requirements. This particularly affects IT departments given that almost all of these so-called compliane regulations can only be met through the support of the IT department, irrespective of which department in a company is originally concerned by …
Inflation in EU hits new record high of 4 percent 1. July 2008 by Thomas Jannot The European Statistical Office (Eurostat) estimates that the annual inflation rate for June 2008 reached 4%. In May this rate had been 3.7%. If this estimate was to be confirmed, this would be the highest inflation rate since the monetary union was brought under way nine years ago. Furthermore, it could prompt the European Central …
Record price increase for imports in May 27. June 2008 by Thomas Jannot On average imported goods were 7.9% more expensive in May 2008 than in May last year. This increase is the highest since November 2000, according to the Federal Statistical Office. One the previous month, April, the import price index increased by 2.4% which is a month-to-month increase not registered since September 1990 (+2.5%).
Number of start-ups decreasing 26. June 2008 by Thomas Jannot In the year 2007 only 860.000 businesses were set up which is the smallest number in seven years. As compared to 2006 there were 230.000 less start-ups. In the new federal lander the decrease amounted to -35 % and to -17 % in the old lander. These figures are based on the Gründungsmonitor 2008 survey …
Own website has become a matter of course to German businesses 25. June 2008 by Thomas Jannot To a large majority of German companies a web presence has become a matter of course. 78% of these have their own internet site on which they at least present themselves and provide contact details. Many businesses, however, also offer goods and services online, provide online assistance or even look online for new staff.
Online buyers avoid expensive products 24. June 2008 by Thomas Jannot Most internet buyers do not buy expensive products. Three quarters of online shoppers did not spend more than 100 Euros during their most recent purchase. Nevertheless, these bargain hunters look for brand names. This is the finding of a study called “Kommunikationskosten im Sales und After-Sales von E-Shops” which was commissioned by the software manufacturer …