Finance

The number of Trabant brand cars registered in Germany has risen by around 3,000 in the past ten years, although the manufacturer Sachsenring has not produced anything since 1991. This is reported by the newspaper “Welt” (Monday edition), citing an evaluation of the registration statistics by the Center Automotive Research (CAR) by Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. Accordingly, in January 2021 exactly 38,173 “Trabis” were registered in Germany.

The car from GDR times leaves the electric car manufacturer Tesla behind: According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, around 34,000 US-brand vehicles were on the road in Germany at the beginning of the year. “It seems that a little new life has been breathed into some of the old two-stroke engines in recent years,” Dudenhöffer told the newspaper. From his point of view, the Trabi is “a small miracle”

“Rembrandt. Landscape Drawings” is the name of the book in all its simplicity. Its author, Albertina curator Achim Gnann, is leafing through the freshly printed work that is being delivered these days with some pride. And says, “I think this is going to be a lot of trouble.” As the? Does he, too, as has long been customary in the industry, doubt that many works were drawn by the master himself? No, the exact opposite is the case.

Image: APA

Gnann works in his book, which he completed in the Corona short-time work of the first lockdown, as a kind of revisionist. He revised most of the numerous write-offs of the past decades, when it became clear that many drawings were made by Rembrandt's students or epigones. Through precise chronological assignments and detailed analyzes, he believes that he can prove that it is indeed Rembrandt's own work. “I hope that my work will inspire the Rembrandt picture to be reconsidered. I hope for a strong response. But I will probably get a lot of beatings because I have dealt with Rembrandt for a long time, but have never published about him have.” Rather, Gnann is a specialist in Italian art, has habilitated on the more than 1,000 sheets of drawing by Parmigianino and has curated sensational exhibitions on Raphael and Michelangelo at the Albertina, where he has been employed since 2005.

In his book, Gnann focuses on the landscape drawings that Rembrandt created from around the mid-1630s to the mid-1650s. The approximately 260 leaves that have been preserved “breathe the freshness and immediacy of the impression of nature that the artist was able to bring to paper on his forays through the area around Amsterdam and other places,” enthuses the art historian in his foreword. “Rembrandt practically absorbed nature in himself, whereby for him it is not about the large and representative, but about the simple, intimate and special that make a view unmistakable.”

Today's Rembrandt research has recently only accepted around 100 of these sheets as Rembrandt originals. What makes Gnann so certain that the drawings he “returned” to Rembrandt really come from his own hand? On the one hand, there are meticulous comparisons with studies, etchings and paintings at the same time that have made it possible for the first time to date most of the drawings almost exactly. “That is very difficult, because there is little evidence for Rembrandt,” says Gnann, “but with the correct chronological classification, the picture also fits together correctly.” On the other hand, the overall effect of Rembrandt's drawings is unique: “He had an unbelievable eye for details, light and atmosphere and what these things trigger in the viewer. In this way he creates real landscape experiences. Each subject gets its own conciseness. His students have not that depth, “he is sure. “I think it's a mistake to fixate too much on the detail as it obscures the overall picture that really matters.”

A side effect of the new publication is that some drawings from the Albertina's holdings are attributed to Rembrandt again in this way. There is also another reference to the Albertina: The six-volume catalog raisonné of Rembrandt drawings published by the former Albertina director Otto Benesch (1896-1964) in the 1950s was considered a standard work for a long time before the “complete clear-cut” of research began who radically reduced the number of originals. With him, “almost everything is inside again,” says Gnann. “In principle it is a Benesch rehabilitation.”

(SERVICE – Achim Gnann: “Rembrandt. Landscape Drawings”, English / German, Imhof Verlag, 368 pages, 81.20 euros)

Raiffeisenbank international (RBI) was involved last June in arranging a government bond for Belarus for 1.4 billion dollars. At that time, two of the most promising candidates for the presidential elections in August were already in custody, and demonstrators and journalists were arrested. When the bond came on the market, nobody could have expected that the election would be free and fair, said Pawel Latuschko from the opposition coordination council in a report in the Ö1 morning journal on Monday. He demands that the Belarusian RBI subsidiary Priorbank should break off all business relationships with state banks and sell all government bonds it still holds.

No information could be given about the purchase or sale of government bonds, the RBI told Ö1. The bank is watching the situation in Belarus with concern and is hoping for a peaceful solution. The accusation of providing economic support for human rights violations is sharply rejected. There is also no business with sanctioned persons.

Latuschko would like Raiffeisen to remain active in Belarus. However, the bank should publicly declare that it does not want any business relationships with customers who are responsible for suppressing the protests.

However, a low comparison basis in January and February 2020 due to the corona

After the difficult corona year, China is showing unusually strong growth. In the first two months of 2021, Chinese exports, calculated in US dollars, made a jump of 60.6 percent year-on-year, as the customs administration reported in Beijing on Sunday. The imports of the second largest economy also increased strongly by 22.2 percent. Foreign trade climbed 41.2 percent year-on-year and exceeded the expectations of experts.

Economists saw the low comparative basis at the beginning of the previous year as one of the reasons for the unusually strong growth, when China took strict control measures and closed factories after the outbreak of the coronavirus in the central Chinese metropolis of Wuhan in January and February 2020. Foreign trade has been developing strongly again since the second half of 2020 and is making a greater than expected contribution to the recovery of the Chinese economy.

Because of the fluctuations caused by the Chinese New Year celebrations, which always fall differently on January or February, China has summarized the data for the two months. This year, however, many companies also worked over the New Year holidays. The government had asked workers not to travel to their homeland as usual, fearing a new spread of the corona virus. In this way, many export orders could be fulfilled earlier.

The 48-year-old Spaniard is returning to his hometown in Catalonia.

The CEO of Media-Saturn-Holding, Ferran Reverter Planet, is resigning from office and will in future run the business of the football club FC Barcleona. Ceconomy's board of directors and supervisory board had agreed to a mutual cancellation of the contract on June 30, Ceconomy announced on Sunday in Düsseldorf.

The 48-year-old Spaniard is returning to his hometown in Catalonia. He has been working for the group since 2002, and in October 2018 he took over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Media-Saturn-Holding.

The chairman of the supervisory board, Thomas Dannenfeld, wants to use the change in personnel to create a “uniform management structure”. This should be established as soon as the group has taken over the remaining shares of the Media Markt founding family Kellerhals.

Ferran Reverter had initially made a career at Media Markt and Saturn in his Spanish homeland and was appointed to head the electronics retail chains in October 2018. At the head office in Ingolstadt, he had advanced digitization and simplified the structures in purchasing and logistics. Insiders had also said he had ambitions for the chief position at Ceconomy. At the head of the Düsseldorf Holding is the former Beiersdorf manager Bernhard Düttmann as interim boss. His contract ends in October. Dannenfeldt now has to find a personnel solution for the dealer's new structure.

Because Ceconomy swallows MediaMarktSaturn completely, the general meeting of the Düsseldorf Holding had only approved the transaction in February. In return, the previous minority owner of the electronics retail chain, the pugnacious Kellerhals family, joins Ceconomy directly and becomes the largest single shareholder with over 25 percent. The transaction should also eliminate duplicate structures between Ingolstadt and Düsseldorf.

Despite a booming online business, MediaMarkt and Saturn are currently suffering from the consequences of the Corona crisis. Numerous branches had to temporarily close their doors. As the largest electronics retail chain in Europe, Media Markt and Saturn operate more than 1000 stores with over 47,000 employees, 420 of them in Germany.

The company produces AstraZeneca's corona vaccine and is developing its own vaccine against the pandemic.

The South Korean pharmaceutical company SK Bioscience will raise the equivalent of around 1.1 billion euros from the planned IPO. The vaccine developer is allocating its shares at 65,000 won (48.25 euros) each and thus at the upper end of the offering range. The company produces AstraZeneca's corona vaccine and is developing its own vaccine against the pandemic.

Catching up stopped

The German economy surprisingly throttled its production in January. Industry, construction and energy suppliers together produced 2.5 percent less than in the previous month, as the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Monday.

Economists, on the other hand, had expected an increase of 0.2 percent after the eighth consecutive month of growth in December with a revised plus 1.9 percent. Compared to February 2020, the month before the Corona restrictions began, production was 4.2 percent lower.

The results at the beginning of the year were very different in the individual sectors. The industry cut its production by 0.5 percent and thus for the first time since April 2020. “Despite the measures to combat the pandemic, industrial emissions recorded only a slight decrease in January, mainly due to the shortages in semiconductor products in the automotive industry originated “, explained the ministry. “In contrast, mechanical engineering recorded a noticeable plus.” In the construction industry there was a significant decrease of 12.2 percent, which is probably due in part to the unfavorable weather. The utilities reported an increase of 0.6 percent.

The export-dependent industry can count on a sustained upward trend: its production expectations brightened in February for the third month in a row. The corresponding barometer rose from 9.4 points in January to 20.7 points, as the Ifo Institute found out in its monthly survey of 2,000 companies.

Company has to look for other solution to rescue. Takko has 115 branches in Austria.

The negotiations between the German fashion discounter Takko and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia about a guarantee for several million euros have “de facto failed”, according to the company. Takko “must now try to find another solution to ensure the continued existence of the company,” it said in a statement on Monday.

The current lockdown has brought the “perfectly healthy company” into an “economic extreme situation” before the pandemic. The last applicable restrictions would have “cost Takko ten million euros week after week,” said the company. With over 1,900 branches in 17 countries, 115 of them in Austria, Takko is one of the largest fashion chains in Europe.

Interim CEO Karl-Heinz Holland said: “I am more than disappointed that the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is not supporting us in this situation.” The guarantee would have given the company “breathing space again to cover operating costs in the short term. It would not have been more than that.” According to Takko, the conditions of an auditing firm commissioned by the state and federal government could not be met.

A reaction from the state government was initially still pending. Numerous companies have applied for a guarantee since the corona pandemic. The most prominent so far was that for Schalke 04. According to the Bundesliga club from the summer, the guarantee had been approved. The amount was not officially announced, but it was reportedly around 31 million euros.

According to insiders, the mixed reality headset will come onto the market in the coming year.

According to renowned Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, Apple will launch its mixed reality headset in mid-2022. The AR glasses, on the other hand, should come out in 2025, as MacRumors reports.

Most of the information provided by Kuo was on the mixed reality headset for AR and VR experiences. The Group's design team is to work on several prototypes. All should weigh between 200 and 300 grams. Apple's goal is to reduce the weight by 100 to 200 grams. Thus, the Apple product would be lighter than other competing products, such as Facebook's 503 gram Oculus Quest 2 headset.

Better experience

“Although Apple has focused on AR, we believe the hardware specifications of this product can deliver an immersive experience that is significantly better than existing VR products,” said Kuo. The Apple headset should be more of a portable than a mobile product and have independent computing and storage power.

The device is said to have more than a dozen cameras that track the user's hand and eye movements. Micro-OLED displays from Sony and an Apple processor, which is similar to the M1 chip, should also be installed. According to Kuo, the headset should also make video applications available, for example on Apple TV or Apple Arcade.

The product is said to cost around $ 1,000, which is significantly cheaper than previous reports suggested.

Glasses and lenses

Kuo had less information about AR glasses. In any case, he believes that there are still no prototypes for AR glasses. The product could also have independent computing power and storage space.

The analyst has also announced another product: Apple's AR contact lenses are planned between 2030 and 2040. The focus is on “invisible computing”. The analyst did not provide any further details.

Women are more affected than men by the rise in unemployment – especially in rural areas. This is shown by labor market data evaluated by OGM and APA. According to this, almost 70,000 women are looking for jobs in rural communities – 65 percent more than a year ago. For men, the increase in rural areas is “only” 28 percent. The AMS cites industry differences as reasons, but also suspects that women are often counted among the “marginal workforce” and are first given notice.

Image: APA

Almost 437,000 people were looking for jobs throughout Austria in February – 103,000 more than in the previous year. Overall, there are still more men than women unemployed. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, women have clearly caught up: The number of women without a job has risen by 40 percent since February 2020 (to 186,740), that of unemployed men “only” by a quarter (to 250,242).

The crisis hit women in rural areas particularly hard (). Because in rural communities, two thirds more women are currently unemployed than before the outbreak of the pandemic. The plus of 65 percent is more than twice as large as in the cities, where there are 29 percent more unemployed women. For men, the data also show an urban-rural divide, but with a plus of 28 percent in rural areas and plus 23 percent in cities, it is significantly less steep.

Part of the explanation is that many women work in industries that are severely suffering from the lockdown: commerce, personal services, and tourism. Johannes Klotz from OGM points out that 58 percent of the workforce in accommodation and hospitality are women. Accordingly, unemployment has risen particularly sharply in rural tourism communities: twice as much for men and four times as much for women.

The head of the executive office in the Public Employment Service (AMS), Marius Wilk, also refers to the consequences of lockdown and travel restrictions, especially in the country: “Tourism is striking hard.” But he suspects a second reason behind the gender gap. Because the industry differences alone are not enough to explain the trend. “Even controlled by industry, female unemployment has risen significantly more than that of men,” says Wilk. He sees signs that companies are firing women first in economic crises: “It should look like the women's jobs in many companies are assigned to the 'marginal workforce' and the men to the 'core workforce'.” In his opinion, one reason for this could be the higher proportion of women working part-time.

Speaking of part-time work: because women generally earn less, unemployment benefits are also lower for them. On average, men receive 33 euros per day for unemployed people or unemployment assistance, women receive 28.50 euros – that is, almost 5 euros per day or up to 142 euros per month less.

It remains to be seen how quickly the labor market will ease again after the end of the pandemic. If the expected increase in corporate bankruptcies should occur, a long-term loss of jobs is also to be feared, says Marius Wilk from the AMS. And Johannes Klotz from OGM refers to the importance of tourism for rural areas. After all, the employment opportunities there are a major reason why the emigration of women in Austria – unlike in rural regions in Eastern Germany – has so far been prevented.