Good morning dear readers,
there is good news and bad news. The bad first: There was more undeclared work in Germany this year. Now the good news: There was more undeclared work in Germany this year. A contradiction? no way.
On the one hand, the fact that undeclared employment has increased by 7.1 percent compared to the previous year, according to new calculations, is a major problem. After all, the state loses important tax revenue and the social security funds lose important contributions. Undeclared work is – to emphasize this in a legally watertight manner – illegal. On the other hand, the economist Friedrich Schneider says: “The sharp increase in undeclared work this year has also protected many people from sliding into poverty.”
More than 80 percent would immediately spend the money they earned secretly, he says. That stabilized the economy and compensated for some of the tax losses through VAT.
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Overall, the volume of the shadow economy has increased by 22 billion to over 360 billion euros compared to the previous year. This corresponds to around ten percent of the gross domestic product.
Economist Schneider had originally assumed that the black market would even shrink this year. “But the energy crisis and high inflation rates reversed this result,” he says. In times when prices are rising and not enough money is earned regularly, the incentive to work unannounced also increases.
Conclusion: undeclared work is just a symptom of the crisis.
Elon Musk should now be a little more familiar with crises: his almost two months as Twitter CEO have been characterized by chaos and controversy. Now he wants to give up his chief post on the social media platform – but only once a successor has been found. On the night Musk tweeted: “I will step down as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to do the job!” After that, I will just lead the software and server teams.”
In a poll initiated by Musk himself, a majority of Twitter users had previously spoken out in favor of his resignation. However, there is currently little to suggest that the 51-year-old multi-billionaire will quickly find a suitable candidate for the top job.
Do you know the Grinch? The fluffy green character from literature and films is known to hate Christmas and likes to steal children’s presents. The Japanese central bank will play the role of Grinch on the stock market this year. The Bank of Japan finally dashed investors’ hopes of a Christmas rally with its unexpected decision to allow long-dated government bond rates to rise more sharply.
The comments of the experts ranged from “shock” to “bang”, the prices on the stock markets slid into the basement. None of the 47 economists surveyed by the Bloomberg information service had expected monetary policy to be readjusted so soon. In the past few weeks, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank had already taken a more restrictive course in monetary policy and increased key interest rates. Hardly anyone expects a really happy celebration on the stock exchange.
Anyone who, like me, comes from the Ruhr area knows what the word “structural change” means. The demise of an outdated industry that has fed an entire region is often painful and entails many hardships. But in the best-case scenario, this can also create new opportunities.
The same is currently happening to the so-called “Rust Belt” in the USA. The “rust belt” in the north-east of the country, which was once characterized by heavy industry, has been experiencing economic decline for years. But new gigafactories for the production of lithium-ion batteries are now giving parts of the region hope for a fresh start. Exclusive figures show the extent of investment in future technology. Since Joe Biden took office, more than 54 billion US dollars have flowed into new battery projects. Our US correspondents Annett Meiritz and Felix Holtermann visited the new strip of hope.
The US President wants to promote battery production in the USA.
(Photo: AP(2), Reuters, Getty)
Cough Syrup? Sold out. antipyretic? Sold out. In the pharmacies, the delivery bottlenecks for many medicines are now clearly noticeable. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) now wants to take countermeasures and promises that health insurance companies will pay more for such drugs from now on. His calculus: Germany could become more attractive as a sales market for manufacturers.
But experts doubt that the plan can change anything about the acute emergency. My Berlin colleague, Handelsblatt health expert Jürgen Klöckner, writes that the shortage was already indicated in the summer. His concern: “If the plan goes wrong, the prices for generics will rise – and the supply bottlenecks will still remain.”
Important medicines are also currently lacking in China. Since the government in Beijing nullified its zero-Covid strategy and let the virus run wild in the country, the hospitals are overcrowded, doctors overwhelmed. At least videos from China give this impression – the government officially speaks of only 2,700 cases. However, the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher. According to estimates by experts, at least half of the approximately 22 million inhabitants in Beijing alone could be infected.
The fact that many industries in China lack staff also speaks for the rapid spread of the virus. Delivery services, hospitals and pharmacies are struggling with high levels of sick leave. German companies are also affected. Seen from a distance, it almost seems like a reaction of defiance that the Communist Party so suddenly lifted the previously strict restrictions after popular protests. According to the motto: “You want loosening? You shall have it.”
A political decision that could ultimately cost the lives of many people.
Well, are you already looking forward to your six-month vacation in 2025? According to a ruling by the Federal Labor Court in Erfurt, holiday entitlement can no longer expire at the end of the year, nor can it automatically become statute-barred after three years. Accumulating vacation days will be easier in the future.
Employees must be informed in good time by their boss of remaining vacation entitlements and asked to take vacation. “Mr. Meyer, please relax and don’t come to my office again any time soon!” This sentence should be used more frequently in the future.
With this in mind, I hope that you always know what to do with your free time.
It greets you cordially
your
Teresa Stiens
Editor of the Handelsblatt
