The deputy editor-in-chief’s weekly recap

Good morning everyone,

Norbert Blüm was Minister for Labor and Social Affairs under Chancellor Helmut Kohl for 16 years. Nothing is more memorable from his political work than the statement “Because one thing is certain: the pension.”

In April 1986, Blüm himself posted it on an advertising pillar in Bonn. The promise, which was emblazoned on thousands of posters in Germany at the timewas to accompany him throughout his life – even if he later had to revoke it.

And so when we were brainstorming the cover for the current weekend title, Blüm’s legacy and the 1.64 meter tall man in a smock on the ladder immediately came to mind. This time, our chief reporter for financial investments, Markus Hinterberger, analyzes in detail what you have to do to ensure that your pension is really secure.

What happens after such a brainstorming session?where the management team, our copywriter, authors and many more develop ideas for the cover stories in the Handelsblatt every week (sometimes weeks in advance)? Our Art Director Michel Beckerwho is of course always there, and takes care of the weekend cover with a lot of head and creativity – and great composure – sorts everything and makes initial suggestions for the cover of the next big story.

Then he thinks about which of the illustrators around the world we work with and who also draw for the “Economist” or “Time Magazine”, for example, could be the best for the cover – and gives them the ideas out. The creative professionals develop our suggestions further and bring in their own designs.

Once the covers are available, the discussion follows. Michel sends the package around with a request for feedback that is as informal as it is demanding: “What do you all mean?”.

Lots of e-mails follow, more conversations and phone calls, sometimes small groups (also smaller conspiracies) and tests with colleagues in the newsroom that are ambush-like: “Tell me, which one do you think is better? Don’t think twice!”

Then it is a matter of incorporating all the more or less tangible input into the drafts. Then it gets quiet for a while – around colleague Michel and on the various channels – until a best-of is available. This is what it looked like with our current weekend title.

Finally there is a showdown. Here are a few excerpts:

• “I think Blüm is great, but it’s probably also a question of age. But when Blüm: I always skip the ‘is’.”
• “I like variant two best – the pure typo solution, which you can understand even if you don’t know Blüm.”
• “I feel the typo solution is too loud. Almost looks like BILD.”
• “From my point of view, Blüm is a good idea. Looks cool too. But you don’t understand it at first glance. I just took the test. Maybe the deck chair would be better.”
• “If Norbert can no longer be held, I’ll lie down on the deck chair.”
• “I would also bet on the deck chair, somehow that goes well with the sunny weekend.”

The editor-in-chief decides which cover it will be in the end. But we would also be happy to have a discussion among ourselves beforehand. This week it actually became the deck chair – and Team Blüm in the editor-in-chief, to which I also belonged, although I was only five years old in 1986, were convinced.

We fought for the line on the cover photo until the last minute, as we almost always do. Then things get cozy around his colleague Michel, because everyone is standing around him, staring at his monitor and weighing up individual words. Until our editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes looks up and asks “Now we have it, right?” and everyone nods in satisfaction and goes back to their desks – a bit tired but happy.

What else kept us busy this week:

1: The penalties imposed by the auditor oversight body, or Apas for short, on EY in connection with the Wirecard scandal are historic. In Germany, the auditor may not take on any new audit mandates for public interest companies for a period of two years. This includes all listed companies. There is also a fine of 500,000 euros. Apas confirmed the relevant information from the Handelsblatt earlier this week.

The two-year non-competition clause is painful for EY. For a long time, EY was considered a successful attacker in the audit business and had achieved a market share of 30 percent in the Dax by 2022, as the chart shows. The company will now have to give up two more mandates in the coming year due to rotation and cannot win any new clients for the time being. This will halve the market share.

2: This week there were two exciting general assemblies in Switzerland, which are called general assemblies there: Credit Suisse was the first to hold its last shareholder meeting in the bank’s 167-year history on Tuesday. It was the expected reckoning.

UBS followed a day later. After the emergency takeover of the “bargain” Credit Suisse, the bank is likely to post a record balance sheet profit this year. This is due to an extremely rare position in the books called Badwill. We explain what this is all about in our UBS analysis.

3: The ministerial meeting of the oil cartel Opec plus was only scheduled for Monday. But that’s not the only reason why the cut in production volumes by 1.7 million barrels a day announced on Sunday afternoon came as a surprise. But also because the vast majority of experts had expected the cartel to leave the volume unchanged.

“It is no exaggeration to speak of a shock for the markets”, writes our Head of Finance, Michael Maisch, in his comment. The cut sends a message that is as clear as it is uncomfortable for the West: “Opec will not tolerate a slide in the price of oil.”

4: You always set different accents in China policy, but have now traveled to Beijing together. We are talking about Ursula von der Leyen and Emmanuel Macron.

While France’s President arrived with a large business delegation and dozens of contracts with him, the head of the EU Commission met with representatives of European business on site to hear about problems. Negotiation experts speak of the “good cop, bad cop” tactic.

Neither of them got the hoped-for concessions from China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping in terms of Ukraine. Xi is said to have merely declared his willingness to to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phonewhen “time and circumstances are right”.

5: Jens Ehrhardt has been working as an analyst and fund manager for over half a century. Despite the recent turmoil surrounding the banks, the 81-year-old sees the stock markets on the right track. Ehrhardt was confirmed on Tuesday by the rise of the Dax to a new high for the year of 15,736 pointsbut fears that the good mood on the stock exchanges will end in May, as he told us in an interview.

6: The interest rate turnaround by the central banks is causing turmoil in Europe’s real estate markets. Fast-rising mortgage rates combined with high inflation and falling home prices are overwhelming more and more homeowners across the continent. This is what our correspondents report.

This is also because in Countries like Sweden, Portugal and Poland the number of households with a variable interest rate on new mortgages is among the highest in Europe. That’s why my colleague Julian Trauthig demands in his comment: “Protect homeowners from variable interest rates!”

And he describes what you should do when the cheap real estate loan expires and follow-up financing is due.

The market for commercial real estate is also currently in focus. In a report, the European Central Bank points out the dangers for financial stability in this area. Specifically, the ECB sees problems with investment funds that are invested in commercial real estate in Europe. You can read why in our report.

7: Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner wants to strengthen Germany as a start-up location. It is about a significantly higher tax allowance when young companies let their employees participate in the company, but also about the reform of the much-criticized “dry income” taxation. And: In the future, significantly more start-ups should benefit from all the advantages, since the limits for the number of employees, age and turnover of the companies will be raised.

8th: While the start-up scene praises Lindner for his draft law, the SPD and Greens are very frustrated with the FDP leader. Because when the finance minister says “no” to higher spending, which he is currently doing consistently, the coalition partners can do little. Lindner relies on new figures from his company, which the Handelsblatt analyzed in the tax fact check – with interesting findings.

9: What a bizarre spectacle that was on Tuesday in New York. Donald Trump had to appear in court because the ex-US President was charged with 34 counts. It’s about falsifying documents in connection with hush money payments to the former porn actress Stormy Daniels. Trump pleads, who would have thought it, “not guilty”.

Just hours later, at his golf club in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, the 76-year-old ranted that the charges against him were “massive election interference.” Judge Juan Merchan has set the next court date for December 4th. Plenty of time so we can all calm down a bit. Better is this.

I wish you a happy Easter and a few peaceful holidays with sun lounger weather!

Best regards
Her

Kirsten Ludowig

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Handelsblatt

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