A new study by the association for research on consumption (GfK) revealed that an ever growing number of people in Germany use the internet for turnover generating activities. In the year 2008 German consumers bought goods to the amount of 13.6 billion Euros over the internet which was an increase by 19% on the previous year. Thus, the internet continues being a distribution channel with the biggest growth potential. more…

In the fourth quarter 2008 hourly labour costs increased by 3.8% (nominally) in the Eurozone as compared to the fourth quarter in 2007. This increase is much smaller than in the third quarter (+4.2 %). In the EU27 the annual growth rate of labour costs amounted to 4.6 % in the fourth quarter following +4.2% in the third quarter. Wages and salaries increased by 3.9 % in the Eurozone in the fourth quarter, and ancillary wage costs by 3.6 %. In the third quarter last year the respective changes had been +4.2 % and +4.3 %. more…

According to the Federal Statistical Office, a long series of annual German record export surpluses came to an end in 2008. German exports in 2008 amounted to 994.9 billion Euros and imports to 818.6 billion Euros which resulted in a foreign trade surplus of 176.2 billion Euros. This amount was 19.1 billion Euros less than in the year 2007. Nevertheless, the surplus in 2008 was the second largest since the year 1950, according to the BGA association. more…

According to provisional data provided by the German Statistical Office, in January this year turnover generated by the German processing industry dropped by 20.0% as compared to January last year. This is the biggest drop since the indicator was first calculated in 1991. On December 2008 turnover (in real terms) fell by 6.6% after adjustment for season calendar. more…

The Berlin ITB tourism fair defied the current economic crisis. According to the organizers, this year 110,000 expert visitors attended the ITB, 42% were visitors from abroad. In total 180,000 people visited the exhibition halls. Exhibitors were optimistic despite the global economic crisis and satisfied with the results of the exhibition. According to the organizers Messe Berlin, 91% of exhibitors would like to return next year. more…

Wholesale trade selling prices were down by 5.7 % in February 2009 as compared to February last year and by 0.1% in comparison with January this year. In particular a drop in prices for mineral oil products and solid fuels affected the index of wholesale trade selling prices. Prices for these products fell by 14.8% as compared to February 2008 and slightly increased on January this year (+0.8%). more…

About 16.3 million Germans already bought a plain ticket over the internet. About 13 million already booked a hotel room over the internet. Data provided by the German Association for Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) show how important the internet has become for the tourist industry. Many travellers appreciate the advantages of booking over the internet. In many cases booking over the internet is not only more cost-efficient, but also more convenient than booking in a traditional travel agency. more…

In the German industry and the service sector hourly labour costs were up by 3.9% in the fourth quarter 2008 as compared to the fourth quarter in 2007. This is the biggest increase since 1997. In comparison with the third quarter 2008 hourly labour costs increased by 1.7% in the fourth quarter after adjustments for season and calendar. more…

In January this year the volume of incoming orders to German industry dropped by 8.0% after adjustments for price and season as compared to January 2008. Thus, this shrinking process has even accelerated given that in December 2008 the reduction had been 7.6% as compared to December 2007. The volume of major orders, however, was above average. Orders from abroad fell by 11.4%. more…

According to the Mittelstandsmonitor 2009 study, the recession has in the meantime also reached German small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) even though less seriously than internationally oriented major companies. Business expectations fell to a historic record low by the end of 2008. Nevertheless, reductions in investment and employment turned out to be relatively moderate. Once more down, however, was the number of newly founded businesses. The study in question also showed that older companies are not as active in research and development as younger businesses and that SMEs do less research and development than companies of larger size. more…