Prices in Germany are rising faster than expected
Constantly rising prices – especially for basic foods – are becoming a problem for more and more low earners in Germany.
kca. Inflation accelerated again in Germany. Goods and services cost an average of 7.9 percent more in May than a year earlier, according to an initial estimate by the Federal Statistical Office in Berlin on Monday (May 30). This means that prices rose faster last month than experts originally expected – economists had only expected 7.6 percent, after 7.4 percent in April.
Inflation has many causes. In addition to supply bottlenecks and interrupted supply chains due to the corona pandemic and the ongoing lockdowns in China, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is also causing further inflation, for example in the price of energy sources.
Migros will only announce the result of the alcohol vote in mid-June
The vote on alcohol sales will continue until next Saturday.
no. Migros does not want to announce the result of the alcohol vote, which runs until next Saturday, until mid-June. This was reported by the awp news agency, citing the company spokesman.
The 2.28 million members of the ten regional Migros cooperatives who are entitled to vote can vote by post or in person at a branch up to 4 June whether Migros should include alcoholic beverages in its range. Then, in mid-June, Migros will provide information about the result in its magazine, Marcel Schlatter told awp.
Only if more than two-thirds of the voters in a regional cooperative are in favor of selling alcohol will the amended statutes come into force there on July 1, 2022. It may happen that some regional cooperatives will include alcohol in their range from 2023 and others will not.
Why there is no alcohol to buy at Migros – and what that has to do with “Dutti”. Our background
Moscow also wants scheme for gas payments
use when paying off debt
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
(dpa) The government in Moscow only wants to repay its foreign debt to holders of government bonds if they open an account with a Russian state bank. It had already imposed a similar regulation for the payment of Russian gas supplies at the end of March. «How are ruble payments for gas? Foreign currency is transferred to us, and here, on instruction, it is exchanged for rubles and settled in this way. The clearing mechanism for Eurobonds works the same way, only in the opposite direction,” said Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Monday in the daily newspaper “Vedomosti”. The regulation is intended to avert the threat of technical bankruptcy in Russia.
Since April, European countries have had to pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles by order of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. To do this, western gas buyers have to open an account with Russia’s state-owned Gazprombank and deposit euros there. Gazprombank then settles the amount in rubles and pays it to Gazprom.
In the case of government bonds, the principle should run the other way around, according to Siluanov’s plan. Russia deposits rubles into the bank, which converts them into euros or dollars, and the bondholders then receive foreign currency. However, they would need to have an account with the bank themselves.
According to Siluanov, the scheme is designed to bypass western payment systems. This is necessary because, after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the US instructed the western correspondent banks, which were previously responsible for disbursements, to block Russian payments. This can result in Moscow defaulting on its debts and being declared bankrupt.
Ifo: Chinese lockdowns exacerbate supply problems
A ship in Shanghai harbor in late April. Week-long lockdowns in China are exacerbating the current delivery problems.
(dpa) The corona lockdowns in China are exacerbating the material shortage in German industry. In the latest company survey by the Ifo Institute in May, 77.2 percent of companies complained about material shortages and delivery problems, after 75 percent in April. “The closure of ports in China has further worsened the situation for many companies,” said Ifo survey manager Klaus Wohlrabe in Munich on Monday. The massive disruption of the logistics chains will therefore noticeably delay the economic recovery.
Around half of the companies in the survey said that the lockdowns in China had exacerbated supply problems. Almost all key industries are badly affected, most of all mechanical engineering, where 91.5 percent of companies complained about delivery problems.
Easy Jet is canceling more than 200 flights in the next ten days
Easy Jet is canceling numerous flights for the British school holidays of all days.
(dpa) The British low-cost airline Easy Jet has canceled more than 200 flights for the next two weeks. The company announced on Saturday that this was necessary in order to be able to maintain a reliable service. Around 24 flights per day from London’s Gatwick Airport are said to be affected by June 6th. In addition to the upcoming celebrations for the throne jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, there are also school holidays in England.
On Thursday, Easy Jet had to cancel around 200 flights due to a software error. The upcoming failures should not be related to this, as the BBC reported. Instead, various problems such as delays at the airports, construction work and restrictions on air traffic control should play a role. Customers should be able to rebook or request refunds, the company said.
Easy Jet is partially withdrawing from the German capital’s airport BER and wants to station fewer machines there due to lower demand, as was recently announced.
Delays were also noticeable on Saturday at several English airports and at the international London train station St Pancras: long queues formed in some cases. As in the past few days, there were traffic jams in front of the port in Dover on the English Channel.
Largest order in the history of Siemens – construction of the Egyptian railway network
Siemens CEO Roland Busch takes a selfie in front of the new ICE 3 Neo in Berlin February 1. The company will now also deliver trains to Egypt – an order of record dimensions.
(dpa) The industrial group Siemens has received another billion-euro order from Egypt for high-speed trains, among other things. The Munich-based company announced on Saturday that a contract had been signed with two partners for the construction of the sixth-largest high-speed system in the world. Siemens alone has an order value of 8.1 billion euros. This also includes 2.7 billion euros for the first route, which was agreed last year.
According to Siemens, this is the largest order in the company’s 175-year history. According to the announcement, the construction of a 2000-kilometer high-speed network is planned. Siemens Mobility will deliver 41 high-speed trains, 94 regional trains and 41 freight locomotives. The contract also includes railway infrastructure, eight depots and freight yards and a maintenance contract for 15 years.