Finance

Job build-up slowly despite slight growth

According to the Fed, business activity in the USA has continued to pick up moderately in recent weeks. Most districts reported an increase in employment between January and mid-February, the Fed announced in its “Beige Book” economic report published on Wednesday. However, job development is slow.

Most companies have remained optimistic about the next six to twelve months, as more and more corona vaccines are coming onto the market. House prices continued to rise in most parts of the United States. The Beige Book is based on a survey among company representatives.

According to a company survey in February, US service providers suffered a slight setback in their business activities – nevertheless, as in the manufacturing sector, the signs are still pointing to growth. So far, however, the bottom line has been that around ten million jobs have been lost in the corona pandemic. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently stated that the US economy will still need help from the monetary authorities for some time to come. The development of the economy continues to depend significantly on the course of the virus and the measures taken to control its spread.

Austria remains in the upper midfield with an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent

The situation on the labor market in the euro zone and the European Union did not change in January 2020 compared to the previous month. As in December 2020, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro zone was 8.1 percent in January 2021, the Eurostat statistics office announced on Thursday. Austria – once the EU front runner – was again in the upper midfield with 5.7.

The unemployment rate in the EU also remained unchanged in January 2021 compared to the previous month at 7.3 percent. In January 2021, around 16 million men and women were unemployed in the EU, around 13 million of them in the euro area. Compared with December 2020, the number of unemployed rose by 29,000 in the EU and by 8,000 in the euro area. Compared with January 2020, the number of unemployed increased by 1.47 million in the EU and by 1 million in the euro area.

According to the international survey method, the lowest unemployment rate in the EU was recorded in Poland with 3.1 percent, the highest in Spain with 16 percent. Austria was in the upper midfield with 5.7 percent. No data were available for Estonia, Greece, Italy, Romania and Finland.

Youth unemployment in the EU and the euro zone also remained almost unchanged compared to the previous month. In the EU, it was 16.9 percent in January 2021, as in December 2020, and in the euro zone it fell by 0.1 percentage points to 17.1 percent. The lowest youth unemployment rate was recorded in Germany with 6.2 percent, followed by the Netherlands with 9.1 percent and Austria with 9.7 percent. Spain brought up the rear with around 40 percent.

The senders claim that they have won a voucher worth 750 euros for Mediamarkt.

A new attempt at fraud is currently underway. As the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office warns, this time the fraudsters are targeting users of the Viber messenger service.

This is rather unusual as such campaigns mostly target WhatsApp. Since WhatsApp has recently lost millions of users to other messengers due to the disputed terms of use, the fraudsters now seem to be expanding their machinations to these messenger alternatives.

750 euro voucher

In the current campaign, the fraudsters pose as competition operators. They promise a voucher for Mediamarkt in the amount of 750 euros. All you have to do is fill out an anonymous questionnaire on the “Viber Gifts” website.

If you follow the link, you will be redirected to another URL. The website there is in the style of Mediamarkt, the logo also appears there.

According to the website, the operator is CEOO Marketing GmBH. The data protection conditions correctly state that brand owners or manufacturers, which in this case would be Mediamarkt, have nothing to do with the website.

Data is being collected

The survey promised on Viber is by no means anonymous. For example, your name, gender, address and email address are required. Then other questions, such as insurance, should be answered. Participation in a competition will then be confirmed. There is no longer a word to be read from the promised voucher.

It can be assumed that in the best case scenario you will only receive spam and mail advertising and the operator of this website will sell the data on to everyone who pays for it. In the worst case, the information forms the basis for targeted attempts at fraud, up to and including the delivery of invoices for subscriptions that have not been taken out. Somewhere in between there are tracking cookies and possibly malware and espionage software that can be captured by visiting such a website.

The majority owner also puts an additional managing director in the mask manufacturer's boardroom.

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Majority owner Lenzing is now tightening the reins at the protective mask manufacturer Hygiene Austria, which has granted partial production of its masks in China.

As planned for a long time, the listed company oö. Fiber manufacturer takes over management control at Hygiene Austria LP GmbH and appoints an additional managing director in Stephan Sielaff. In addition, an external forensic investigation team will be appointed, Lenzing said on Thursday.

Forensics team should create clarity

When asked, the forensics team should “create clarity” on the mask production topic. A number of how many FF2 masks may have been obtained from China is not yet given. On Wednesday evening, Hygiene Austria surprised with the admission that it had also resorted to Chinese contract manufacturers to meet peak demand. Before that, people had always portrayed themselves as a “Made in Austria” producer, which is why top politicians also met at Hygiene Austria.

The company “clearly rejected” the allegations of fraud and undeclared work, which the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) is investigating.

Sielaff, who is now the third managing director at Hygiene Austria LP GmbH, is a full-time member of the board of directors for fibers & technology at Lenzing, a qualified chemical engineer and held management positions at Unilever and Symrise from 1993 to 2014. From 2014 to February 2020 he was a member of the board of directors of the Swiss specialty chemicals company Archroma, a supplier to the textile and paper industry.

Joint venture with Palmers

So far, the business of Hygiene Austria LP GmbH has been managed by Tino Wieser and Stephan Trubrich, whereby Tino Wieser (like his brother Luca Wieser) is a member of the board of the Hygiene Austria minority owner Palmers Textil AG and Trubrich is responsible for capital market activities at Lenzing is.

The APA said nothing should change in terms of the 50.1 percent share in Lenzing and 49.9 percent Palmers. The fact that Lenzing wants to take over management control at the mask company already emerged from a merger notification with the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) at the beginning of February. The BWB had until March 2nd for the exam.

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It is certain that Apple will leave out the USB-C port for iPhones. Apple has already patented a new connector.

The days of Apple's Lightning connector on the iPhone are slowly but surely numbered. Anyone who hoped that Apple would switch to the common USB-C standard, which is also built into the iPad Pro, will probably be disappointed. Apple wants to skip the connection and once again rely on its own standard, which is also magnetic.

Patent secured

Anyone who has been wondering how to do this with the magnetic connection could get an answer from a new patent. This provides a connection that is strikingly reminiscent of the MagSafe connections on earlier Macbooks. The contacts connect by magnetic attraction, there is no need to plug the cable into an opening in the housing.

This type of charging cable would have several advantages. This means that no dirt or water can penetrate the device through the closed connection. If you accidentally get stuck on the cable, it will separate from the iPhone without lifting it off the table in a high arc or damaging the cable. The full description of the patent can be found on the US Patent Office website.

Source of income for Apple

For Apple, such a solution would once again mean an additional source of income, since third-party manufacturers would have to have their accessories certified for the Apple interface.

Apple has already experimented with a similar connection for the iPad Pro and accessories such as its official keyboard. With the next iPhone or probably not until the next but one, Lightning could finally be history.

How is the vacation going? Travel law expert Eike Lindinger explains what has changed for vacationers since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Much will be different this year on vacation than before Corona. No matter whether on the Upper Adriatic or in Turkey: The battle at the breakfast buffet has probably been canceled. But the pandemic also spoils any holiday joy.

The question that remains is whether something like this can be claimed from the tour operator as a defect or a lack of holiday pleasure. The KURIER asked Eike Lindinger, author of the annual “Vienna List of Travel Price Reductions”. “No”, says the Viennese lawyer. After all, it must be clear to a vacationer that Corona has also changed the travel world. “Due to the hygiene regulations, snack bars in the wellness area will have to look different than before. The maid won't be able to come up all the time to clean either. “

Different rules of the game

In other words, the rules of the game are changing, also in legal terms. “Corona has become a general life risk,” says Lindinger. “The traffic safety obligation incumbent on the organizer finds its natural limit in the general risk of life.” If it was relatively easy to cancel vacations free of charge when the pandemic broke out, because a pandemic could not be expected at the time of booking, this will no longer be so easy this summer ( unless a corresponding cancellation clause has been agreed with the organizer or landlord).

From Lindinger's point of view, the need for clarification and the duty to provide information in travel agencies are increasing. “You will have to ask someone over the age of 70 whether a trip is even suitable for them and whether they have been vaccinated.” In 2021, no one can expect a vacation to be the same as in 2019. Even if tour operators only have half of them Buses and hygiene measures are on the way, you can not rely on all travelers sitting in the seats assigned to them. Lindinger: “In addition, you have to be prepared for short-term changes, for example if you cannot go to a certain destination on a round trip.”

Even if it felt like nobody was able to go on vacation in the previous year, legal disputes are piling up on Lindinger's desk because of supposedly skidded vacations or sunk down payment costs. An excerpt:

Failed Grado vacation

A family of 4 had booked a mobile home on Grado beach for June 2020, but then did not want to arrive and asked for their deposit back. Reason: Fear of corona infection. The family man flashed the judge. “Because, according to the information from the Foreign Ministry, both entry into Italy and return to Austria would have been possible during the relevant period without quarantine,” explains Lindinger.

It was also argued that staying in a mobile home would not have been at a higher risk of infection than at home. There can therefore be no question of a loss of the business basis. The alleged “Grado vacationer” had no right to a refund of the deposit.

Another but-not-vacationer who had rented an alpine hut for 14 people – without food – last summer was also blown away. He also wanted to withdraw from the contract free of charge with reference to Corona. The court ruled that the traveler himself had decided with whom to go to the hut and that there was no risk of infection with the landlord.

Adventure is adventure

A dispute with a South American traveler resulted in a comparison. He had been vaccinated for 500 euros before the start of the trip and argued after the trip that the vaccinations were not necessary. He relied on information from an authority in the vacation country. The burden of proof lay with the organizer. He should have proven that the information provided by the plaintiff was incorrect.

A couple wanted to experience an adventure in Ethiopia. A safari was booked, accommodation in the military camp, excursions by jeep into the wilderness, no shower, no toilet. After a short time, the man got diarrhea and feared that he was suffering from dysentery. His wife said that she could not take care of him because he stank so badly because of the disastrous hygiene conditions in the camp. There was no compensation, Lindinger knows. The couple should have known what they were getting into on such an adventure vacation.

With corona insurance

If you are planning a trip for the summer or before that, you should play it safe and take out travel insurance that also covers corona effects. These include possible illness before or during the trip, a necessary quarantine or border or hotel closings. Some insurance companies have special additional corona insurance in their luggage, such as the cost of a longer quarantine on site; However, this only applies to countries that are not subject to the Corona travel warning. In general, there are two rules of thumb: firstly, pay attention to the travel warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and secondly, package tours are considered less complicated if there are problems with Covid on site.

Home office food

In Corona times, Austrians have a lot of frozen food on the table. In the previous year it was a total of 105,000 tons.

Eat outdoors? Nothing! We Austrians therefore ate 105,000 tons of frozen products in the previous year – a record and 16 percent more than in 2019.

According to Iglo, 25 kilos of frozen vegetables and fish fingers or fish (each +16 percent), potato products such as French fries (+20 percent) and frozen ready-to-eat meals (+11 percent) ended up in our stomachs. According to the AMA, the biggest crisis winners in fresh food (see graphic) were cabbage vegetables. Plus here: 33 percent.

Profits from Bitcoin and Co can quickly become a tax trap. The futurezone explains what to watch out for.

The crypto market is booming. But while Bitcoin and other crypto assets climb from one record to the next, you run the risk of falling into the tax trap. Because every transaction with crypto assets is taxable if the acquisition was less than a year ago and a profit was made. It does not matter whether you get euros for the cryptos sold, exchange them for other crypto currencies or buy a product or service with it.

The euro value of purchases and sales must therefore be precisely recorded together with the date of the respective transaction. If you make more than 440 euros profit in a calendar year (Germany: 600 euros), the amount must be stated in the tax return as other income under the item “Income from speculative transactions”. Anyone who has previously only submitted an employee tax assessment must change the declaration in FinanzOnline and submit an income tax declaration.

How does theory work in practice?

What sounds plausible in theory, however, quickly turns into a nightmare in practice. Even if you only trade a few cryptocurrencies on a few exchanges and transfer them to secure hardware wallets for safekeeping, the documentation effort can quickly increase. In addition, there are some areas that are barely or unclearly regulated by law.

“Since the requirements of the Ministry of Finance are largely missing, the tax offices judge inconsistently”

This includes the lending of crypto assets (“lending”), for which you get additional coins as “interest”, but also the so-called “staking”. You are rewarded for temporarily making a certain crypto currency available, for example to keep the network stable. Another special case arises with the “airdrop”, where you are rewarded for simply holding a crypto currency with other crypto coins.

“Unfortunately, there is still considerable legal uncertainty about the correct taxation of crypto assets. Since the binding requirements of the Austrian Ministry of Finance are largely missing, the respective tax offices unfortunately judge inconsistently ”, criticized Natalie Enzinger, a tax advisor who specializes in crypto issues, in an interview with futurezone.

What is the best way to document transactions?

If you have to enter all transactions manually in an Excel file, you quickly lose track of things. In addition, the euro value must be recorded when buying and selling. Many exchanges also offer their transaction history as a CSV file for export. However, it must be checked whether the interface spits out all data correctly.

It is easier to use control software, which can also be fed via CSV file or API from most exchanges and then allow the calculation of all transactions. In addition to the Austrian software Blockpit, other platforms such as co-tracking and accointing also offer the possibility of creating tax reports. Koinly also has good user reviews. In addition, screenshots of transactions are recommended for documentation purposes.

“The programs do a lot of work, but they're not perfect. In view of the unclear and sometimes different legal situation in different countries, that is not surprising, ”says Enzinger. “The data, but also the calculation, have to be checked before submitting them to the tax office, which is why many people end up calling in tax advice.”

Which calculation method: FIFO or LIFO?

The devil of calculating profits lies in the detail. If crypto assets are acquired at different times, the decisive factor in the event of a sale or exchange is which of these “tranches” is sold or exchanged.

If the sold crypto assets cannot be assigned, the so-called FIFO method (first-in-first-out) is used in Austria. The oldest crypto assets are considered to be sold first. If you bought 0.3 Bitcoin in January and another 0.2 Bitcoin in February and then sells part of it again in April (e.g. 0.15 Bitcoin), the sales proceeds are reduced by the proportionate acquisition costs of the January tranche .

Natalie Enzinger, tax advisor

The LIFO method (last-in-first-out) still offered by some tax software, however, suggests that the coins bought last will be the first to be sold again, which can also be useful depending on the market cycle. According to Enzinger, however, this method is not considered permissible by Austrian tax authorities.

How are crypto assets given away for taxation?

If crypto assets are given away, according to Enzinger, the decisive factor is not the value when the gift is handed over, but at the time of purchase. The date on which the cryptocurrency was originally purchased also determines whether any increase in value must be taxed by the recipient. If the crypto gift is sold before the 1-year period after the original purchase has expired, tax must be paid on the increase in value. If you sell after this year, the profit is tax-free.

It should also be taken into account that there is an obligation to report gifts in the tax return if a certain amount is exceeded. Between relatives this amounts to over 50,000 within one year, between other persons to over 15,000 within 5 years. In this calculation, however, the value at the time of gift delivery must be taken into account.

How about staking and lending?

Those who make their coins available to the network or a validator (staking) receive reward coins for this time. “Each staking activity has to be assessed individually, as different income levels can be available depending on the structure. In most cases, staking is taxable as part of other income. When the coins are received, they must be converted into euros, ”says Enzinger.

The whole thing is not legally clarified, as is the relatively new DeFi area (decentralized finance), where coins are lent against interest in the same crypto currency (lending). Airdrops that you get without any personal contribution should, however, be tax-free.

Argue conclusively

“In truth, you have to look at every source of income in the crypto space in detail. This is extremely time-consuming and requires specific expert know-how, ”explains Enzinger. It is therefore advisable to consult tax advisors who specialize in the taxation of crypto assets. If you can argue conclusively with professional help at the tax office how you have calculated your income in the portfolio, that is definitely an advantage. Unpleasant surprises could be avoided.

This month, it is ten years since the Arab Spring in Syria saw mass protests against the police and intelligence regime of President Bashar al-Assad. These culminated in a (civil) war, which continues to rage today, after Assad used the military against his own population. An NGO report draws a devastating balance sheet on the tenth anniversary: over 600,000 dead, an estimated 13 million displaced, 1.2 trillion US dollars in costs.

Image: APA (AFP / archive)

The study entitled “A Price Too High” by the children's aid organization World Vision and the consulting firm Frontiers Economics examined both the effects of the war on the Syrian economy and the people, especially the children. 55,000 children (more than nine percent) are among the 600,000 dead.

The Syrian war is therefore the conflict with the highest number of bombs dropped on schools and health facilities worldwide. The life expectancy of children in the country has fallen by 13 years since 2011, also because of the use of children as soldiers. “I have met children across the region whose lives have been destroyed by the conflict,” said World Vision International President Andrew Morley, according to a broadcast.

As for the material costs of the war, the research has confirmed the grim predictions of a previous study in 2016. The report five years ago warned that economic costs could rise from over $ 275 billion at the time, in the worst case scenario, to $ 1.3 trillion by 2020. This has almost come true with the 1.2 trillion US dollars (998 billion euros) that have now been achieved. These 1.2 trillion are made up of the comparatively small sum of 19.4 billion dollars in international humanitarian aid that has so far reached the people of Syria.

The current study also predicts an additional 1.4 trillion US dollars (1,164 billion euros) by 2035 or even an additional 1.7 trillion if one includes the health and education of children. “What cannot be expressed in these sober figures alone: the real costs for the children affected and thus the next generation can only be grasped if one considers the traumatic experiences, missed school years and the loss of medical care and their low chances of getting a good job Add in broken dreams, “says Sebastian Corti, Managing Director of World Vision Austria, of course, with additional concerns.

A survey of 400 Syrian children and young people was also carried out as part of the investigation. All of them want one thing above all else: Peace was the result.

After two setbacks, a prototype of the new “Starship” rocket landed safely for the first time on a test flight by the private space company SpaceX – and only then exploded. During the test on Wednesday (local time) in the US state of Texas, which the company broadcast live, the unmanned rocket landed safely on the ground shortly after takeoff – and then went up in flames a few minutes later.

Image: APA (SPACEX)

Why the missile exploded was not initially clear. “The main goal of today's test flight was to collect enough data on how to control the spaceship upon re-entry (into the earth's atmosphere),” said SpaceX engineer John Insprucker. “And we have achieved that successfully.” A few hours earlier, a first attempt had been aborted a fraction of a second before the planned start, but the engineers decided to try again shortly afterwards.

Landing had failed in two previous tests in December and February. In December, a prototype exploded on landing due to a problem with the fuel system; in February, a prototype fell to the ground apparently unchecked due to a technical defect on the test site and was engulfed in a fireball. With the test flights, SpaceX wants to test individual parts of the rocket.

According to the plans of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, the “Starship” rocket will one day transport cargo and people to the moon and Mars. The special feature: It should be completely reusable. To achieve this, she has to perform a turning maneuver in the air and then land back on the ground in a controlled manner. The rocket should also be used where there are neither launch ramps nor ideal landing sites – for example on Mars.