Zitzelsberger warns of US investment program
(dpa) Baden-Württemberg’s IG Metall boss Roman Zitzelsberger has warned of the consequences of the multi-billion dollar American investment program for German industry. The so-called Anti-Inflation Act is a real “game changer,” said Zitzelsberger of the German Press Agency in Stuttgart. “The protectionist industrial policy of the USA is reminiscent of Chinese industrial policy,” says Zitzelsberger, who negotiated the pilot agreement in the metal and electrical industry and is being treated as the successor to IG Metall federal boss Jörg Hofmann.
“If investments are subsidized as radically as in the USA, then business will be postponed,” said Zitzelsberger. If nothing changes, then “massive investments would be shifted towards the USA”. However, he cannot imagine that nothing will change in US politics. “There would be such an imbalance in competition that vehicles manufactured in Europe, for example, would have no chance on the US market.”
The US inflation control law provides for billions in investments in climate protection. Subsidies and tax credits are tied to companies using US products or manufacturing in the US. There is much criticism of this in Europe.
The European Union should not make the mistake of presenting a comparable European program as a reaction. “Then a trade war would be in full swing,” said Zitzelsberger. Instead, the EU must talk to the US about the new rules. The corridor leads through the World Trade Organization. This would have to ensure that the USA either accepts funding on the other side of the Atlantic to the same extent “or does not even carry out this restrictive form of funding at all”. He thinks the latter is the right way, because otherwise other regions in the world would have to follow suit.
Zitzelsberger also criticized the industrial policy of the EU. With a view to the planned new Euro 7 emissions standard, he said that the limit values were “completely acceptable”, but that there were many rules for the car manufacturers, “who swallow so much money that when switching to CO2-free drives simply is missing”. The industrial policy of the EU makes him even more concerned than the US investment program, “which admittedly is already a real threat”.
Swiss exports plummeted in November
Exports fell significantly, especially in the pharmaceuticals sector.
no. In November, significantly fewer goods were exported from Switzerland than in the previous month. This was announced by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG) on Tuesday. Exports fell by almost ten percent after seasonal adjustment.
The decline is the second largest this year and is mainly due to the chemical-pharmaceutical sector. Here, exports collapsed by almost a fifth, with falling exports of medicines playing the main role. However, according to the BAZG, a total of two thirds of all product groups were in the red, meaning that exports have fallen back to the level of January 2022. Watches, machines and electronics as well as metals and vehicles were on the plus side.
The decline in deliveries to the North America region was particularly high (-38.7 percent). Within Europe, there were strong increases in goods exported to Germany and Austria, while Italy recorded a large minus.
While exports fell, imports continued to rise. Compared to the previous month, they increased by 1.4 percent and thus reached a new high of 20.42 billion. Here, too, the chemical-pharmaceutical products were the ones that made the strongest contribution to growth. As a result, the trade surplus collapsed to almost half a billion francs, after 2.98 billion in the previous month. According to the BAZG, this is the lowest active balance since 2018.
Bank of Japan shocks markets with strategy change
The Bank of Japan is changing course and beginning to tighten monetary policy.
(dpa) With a surprising change of strategy, the Japanese central bank sent shock waves through the markets on Tuesday. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to ease the range of long-term bond yields after a two-day meeting on Tuesday. This was seen by the markets as the first step towards tightening the monetary reins. Up to this point, the BoJ had always insisted that it was the only major central bank in the world to maintain its strategy of extremely loose monetary policy and support for domestic demand.
The BoJ stuck to its program of keeping borrowing costs at an all-time low. However, it decided to allow 10-year Japanese government bond yields between minus 0.5 percent and 0.5 percent. That’s above the current range of minus 0.25 percent and 0.25 percent. The decision surprised even economists. In response, the Nikkei index on Tokyo’s stock exchange fell sharply, while the yen appreciated sharply against the dollar.
Axpo raises EUR 500 million on the European money markets
Axpo needs the 500 million euros to finance ongoing business activities.
top. In order to finance ongoing business activities, Axpo raised EUR 500 million on the European money markets. The energy company wrote this on Monday evening (19.12.) in a message. The company launched its first program for tradable European money market instruments through its subsidiary Axpo International SA. Axpo writes that the proceeds from trading in the so-called “Negotiable European Commercial Paper” (NEU-CP) are used to finance the business. The NEU-CP market is “an important and transparent European capital market for international companies to issue short-term debt securities”.
Energy companies have to deposit collateral on the European energy exchange EEX. Because the electricity market is volatile, the amounts for this have risen sharply in recent months. Axpo needs liquid funds to be able to pay for them.
EU Commission closes investigations against Meta and Google
The EU Commission is ending its investigation into Meta and Google.
(dpa) The EU Commission is no longer investigating the Facebook group Meta and Google because of possible distortion of competition in online advertising. After considering all the relevant evidence, the commission came to the conclusion that its initial concerns were unfounded, as the competition watchdog announced on Monday. The investigation is therefore discontinued. After the companies were formally informed of the investigation in March, those involved had the opportunity to put the doubts to rest. This has obviously succeeded.
Google and Meta are fundamentally competitors in the online advertising market. According to an agreement from 2018, Facebook also takes part in auctions for ad space on a Google platform. The Commission had feared that the cooperation could weaken competing technologies and exclude them from the display advertising market. So-called display advertising is, for example, classic banners that are displayed on websites, but also pop-ups or other graphic advertising elements.
EU Commission: Meta probably distorts competition on Facebook Marketplace
The EU Commission accuses the Facebook group Meta of imposing unfair trading conditions on competitors.
(dpa) According to the preliminary opinion of the EU competition authorities, the Facebook group Meta violates European antitrust regulations by distorting competition on Facebook Marketplace. Specifically, according to a statement on Monday, the EU Commission is complaining that Meta is unilaterally imposing unfair trading conditions on competing online classifieds services that advertise on Facebook or Instagram. In addition, Meta links the Facebook Marketplace to its dominant social network, Facebook.
Facebook users would have automatic access to the classifieds portal, “whether they want it or not”. According to the statement, the Commission suspects that Facebook Marketplace has a significant sales advantage that its competitors cannot compensate for.
The group now has the opportunity to dispel the doubts about its classifieds service. If the EU Commission nevertheless comes to the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence of violations, it can impose a fine of up to ten percent of Meta’s worldwide annual turnover.
Porsche is in the DAX
The DAX welcomes Porsche on Monday morning.
(dpa) The sports car manufacturer Porsche was included in the DAX on Monday morning. However, the symbolic ringing of the bell at the beginning of trading was delayed because the plane with the Porsche bosses could not take off due to the weather, as the company announced. According to a stock exchange spokesman, the event for inclusion in the leading German index should be made up for at lunchtime.
The quick entry into the DAX makes Porsche “happy and proud,” said CEO Oliver Blume, according to a statement. Investors worldwide are convinced of the company’s business model.
The Volkswagen subsidiary from Stuttgart went public at the end of September. After years of speculation and months of testing, Volkswagen raised almost 9.4 billion euros with the IPO. It was the largest initial issue in Germany since Telekom in 1996. The issue price was EUR 82.50 per preferred share. On Monday morning, the shares were listed at EUR 95.34.
What is the Porsche IPO all about? The most important answers