The last invoices are written. The financial accounts can now be closed. We already informed our readers about how the MittelstandsWiki and its journals fared in 2007 and we will tell our readers about our plans for 2008 over the days to come. But we can assure you right now that MittelstandsWiki will take part in the CeBIT fair 2008. But this time thanks to co-operations our stand will be bigger than in 2007. We are already busy with the preparations for CeBIT. We will inform you more in detail on this in due course. Everybody taking part in the OSMB in Nuremberg is invited to meet us personally there. The editor of the MittelstandsWiki will be among the hosts of this event in Nuremberg. We are looking forward to meeting you there and wish you, your families and business partners as well as all our writers and funders all the best for 2008.

Even though a corporate tax reform will take effect shortly, one third of German small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) are not adequately prepared. Important changes such as a decreased tax burden or changes with regard to depreciation are unknown. This finding was revealed through an online survey in which about 1000 SMEs participated over the past weeks. The survey in question was conducted by Sage, a software manufacturer. more…

The findings of a study conducted by Easynet und TNS Infratest claim that environmental protection is not among the top priorities of German companies. In the course of the study about 4500 employees from all parts of Europe were interviewed on the most important business objectives of their employers. Thus, in a ranking listing eight European countries Germany is in the penultimate position in terms of environmental awareness. more…

Several industrial sectors in Germany are quite optimistic for 2008. According to Prof. Michael Hüther, who is director of the Institute for the German Economy (IW) in Cologne, the findings of a recent study demonstrate that Germany is still benefiting from a flourishing world economy and from domestic demand. German trade associations are still in high spirit even though not as much as last year. more…

The Liberale Institut der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit recently presented the new edition of a study entitled “Economic freedom in Germany“. In this study which is based on the international “Economic Freedom of the World” comparative study the authors measure the extent of economic freedom enjoyed by German citizens. Criteria are among others the economic activity of the government, the tax burden and the extent of state intervention on the market. more…

According to the Federal Statistical Office, about 18% of all retail trade companies sold their products such as books, garment or electronic devices online in 2006. Thus, as compared to the year 2004 online sales increased by 7% in 2006. Retail traders on average generated about 10% of their total turnover online in 2006. Even though this percentage seems to be high, online sales in 2006 in the retail trade business amounted to just 4% of total turnover value. more…

According to the German association for information management, telecommunications and new media (BITKOM), the German high-tech industry looks very optimistically ahead to the year 2008. A recent BITKOM survey revealed that 78% of companies expect more turnover for next year, 16% forecast sales to remain unchanged while just 6% forecast turnover to fall. more…

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of incoming orders to German companies in the main construction trade (companies with at least 20 employees) increased by 23.2% in October 2007 as compared to October last year. Thus, incoming orders increased by 12.3% in building construction and by 35.5% in underground engineering. The strong overall increase in mainly due to some major orders in underground engineering. more…

Quite often there is a lack of knowledge about rating according to Basel II in small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), and the decision making process for taking out a loan is therefore frequently deficient. The so-called rating counselor, which is a joint initiative by several business associations and the KfW Mittelstandsbank, is to provide information on the importance of rating in the loan assessment by banks. Furthermore it shows how companies can improve their rating and influence credit terms. more…

While policy makers are still discussing complicated models as to how let employees participate in the profits generated, many companies have already found simpler solutions. About one quarter of German industrial companies and industrial service providers couple certain salary components to the business situation of the company in question. This finding was revealed by a survey conducted by the Institute for the German economy (IW) in Cologne. more…