Finance

From March 22nd, Voestalpine will be listed among the five largest stock exchange groups instead of Raiffeisen Bank International.

The index committee of the Vienna Stock Exchange examined and updated the composition of the leading index ATX. The Lower Austrian energy supplier EVN will replace Telekom Austria in the Austrian Traded Index (ATX) from March 22, 2021. The impetus for this is given by the higher stock exchange turnover and the larger free float capitalization, as the stock exchange announced on Tuesday evening. The domestic national index tracks the 20 most traded and largest listed stocks.

Thanks to higher capitalization, the steel group voestalpine, headquartered in Linz, rises to the “ATX five” – Raiffeisen Bank International has to free up the space. The five largest stock exchange groups include the Erste Group, the oil and gas group OMV, the energy group Verbund, Voest and the brick and building materials manufacturer Wienerberger.

According to the information, the free float factors of the “prime market” companies will remain unchanged and will be reviewed again at the beginning of June. The ATX composition will be checked again in September.

According to the Vienna Stock Exchange, the calculation of the ATX is based on a quantitative methodology that is laid down in a set of rules. According to the “Guidelines for Austrian Indices”, the stock exchange can add or remove companies from the leading index after the semi-annual review (March and September).

The daily average turnover and the free float capitalization of the companies serve as the basis for decision-making. The calculation parameters (number of shares, free float factors and representation factors) are checked every quarter (March, June, September and December).

The “ATX watch list” is published monthly by the exchange. Institutional investors, trading members, issuers of financial products, academics and the Vienna Stock Exchange are represented on the index committee, which decides on the rules governing the indices.

Outdoor seating area

A landlady sees Vorarlberg as a “guinea pig” at the openings. In an interview, she explains why she welcomes the regional easing.

In the course of the gastro summit on Monday, the Austrian federal government decided on further, small opening steps. From the end of March, the pub gardens will be able to receive guests again. School sports can also take place again from mid-March.

But this is not the case for Vorarlberg's “model students”: There are more far-reaching relaxations here, which will take place from March 15th. As the Chancellor announced, the government has opted for a “regionally graduated system”. In Vorarlberg, in addition to gastronomy, there will also be a run-up in the areas of sport and culture.

In the Puls24 interview with Bianca Ambros on Tuesday, the landlady Barbara Prilisauer spoke about the regional opening steps for the catering trade. In this case, the landlady sees Vorarlberg as a “guinea pig”. “I would like to ask Vorarlberg to do the job well, because obviously our future of opening up depends to a large extent on them. ” It will be interesting to see how the openings in Vorarlberg will go through the stage. But Prilisauer highlighted one positive aspect:

Under certain circumstances, things could “go faster and better in the rest of the country”. “We cling to every straw that can be grabbed.”

When it came to the announced opening of the pub gardens, the landlady had to note that there are still a lot of uncertainties. Here she cited the curfew, for example, or the question of whether entry tests are needed here as well. “But I don't think we will be stormed by guests,” said the landlady.

They understand the government's decision. In addition, it would not have been ideal to loosen up too early in order to then blame the catering trade for increasing numbers. With the small opening steps, however, the right path becomes apparent. ” We have to try everything we can – try every possibility.” Nevertheless, Prilisauer emphasized:

“But in April it should really be that time, because the situation will be sadder and sadder.”

Everyone – both entrepreneurs and employees – would suffer from the current situation.

India wants to offer the electric car maker Tesla such high incentives that it can build its cars there more cheaply than anywhere else in the world. “We will guarantee that,” said Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari of the Reuters news agency. “The government will ensure that Tesla production costs will be the lowest in the world, even compared to China – when they start building cars in India.” He urged Tesla not only to assemble the vehicles in India, but to manufacture “the whole product” by involving local suppliers in the country. “Then we can make bigger concessions,” he offered. What kind these could be, he left open.

A few weeks ago, Tesla had registered a company in India under its boss Elon Musk. That was seen as a step towards market entry perhaps as early as the middle of this year. Insiders had said that Tesla wanted to start importing and selling its “Model 3” model.

The transport minister said India was attractive because, as a large market, it could also be a hub for exports – especially because 80 percent of the shares for lithium-ion batteries are now produced locally. “It's a win-win situation for Tesla.”

Hardly any electric cars in India

But it won't be easy for India to convince Tesla of its ideas. In 2020, only 5,000 electric cars were sold there. There are very few charging points and the prices for electric vehicles are high. The country is currently in the process of creating incentives for car manufacturers and suppliers. But that is not yet dry. India wants to bring the construction of electric cars, batteries and other components into its own country, also to avoid expensive imports. The cars themselves should help to keep the air cleaner, especially in big cities.

Tesla currently only produces its vehicles in the United States and China. A factory is under construction in Grünheide near Berlin, which should be ready in mid-2021. Up to 500,000 vehicles are expected to roll off the assembly line there every year.

The Perseverance rover runs on ancient processors, which, however, have one major difference.

If you look at the spectacular videos that the new Mars rover has sent to Earth, you might think that the robot is built with futuristic technology that puts everything else in the shade.

It would hardly occur to anyone that the software in the Perseverance rover is powered by 23-year-old processors. But that is exactly the case.

23 year old chip

The Mars rover actually runs on the same processors as the iMac G3 from 1998. The PowerPC 750 chip is a single-core processor running at 233 MHz. The low performance of the chip is obviously sufficient for the applications of the Perseverance rover.

However, the PowerPC 750 is considered to be particularly efficient because it can predict the processes to be processed in the future quite accurately. The so-called “Dynamic Branch Prediction” increases efficiency.

Proessor with radiation protection

The chip that sits in the Mars rover, however, is not completely identical to the one with the iMac G3. Namely, the processor is manufactured by BAE Systems and is called the RAD750. The name also indicates the specialty of the chip.

Because so that the electronic parts can travel through the galaxy without damage and still function on Mars, they have to be equipped with radiation protection. The components also have to be prepared for the huge temperature differences on the Red Planet.

“It's not just about speed”

For example, the RAD750 processors can withstand 200,000 to 1,000,000 rads and withstand temperatures between -55 and +125 degrees Celsius. Such a processor costs around $ 200,000, as NewScientist writes.

NASA's Orion capsule is also equipped with the same RAD750 chips. “It's not just about speed,” said NASA scientist Matt Lemke at the start of the Orion program in 2014. “It's more about robustness and reliability. We have to make sure that the processor always works.”

Decline of around 30 percent – full year 2020 minus 15.5 percent – Reasons: New customs regulations after Brexit and logistics problems – Experts: Further declines can be expected, but not like in January.

German exports to Great Britain fell by around 30 percent in January after the Brexit trade agreement came into force. However, experts do not assume that similarly strong declines will be recorded in the next few months. However, many companies are changing their supply chains because of the UK's exit from the EU. This will further slow trade with the island.

The reason for the slump at the beginning of the year were “the effects of the completed Brexit”, announced the Federal Statistical Office on Tuesday. As early as 2020, German exports to the United Kingdom had plummeted by 15.5 percent to 66.9 billion euros, mainly because of the corona pandemic. That was the biggest minus since the financial and economic crisis in 2009. “Since 2016 – the year of the Brexit referendum – German exports to the United Kingdom have steadily declined,” according to statisticians. In 2015, German exports there were still 89 billion euros.

The president of the German wholesale association BGA, Anton Börner, referred to new customs regulations, additional bureaucracy and logistics problems with a view to the January figures. “However, given the lack of preparation on the part of the British, it could have been even worse.” The trend will not change anytime soon. “Many companies have restructured their supply chains due to Brexit.” However, the new processes should be implemented in the coming weeks and months.

The President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the native Austrian Gabriel Felbermayr, said that the slump in January is likely to be an outlier on this scale. Economic output in Great Britain would probably have collapsed twice as much as in Germany in 2020 because of the pandemic. “In addition to Brexit, this will have a strong impact on the demand for German products. In the medium term, we do not expect an export slump of this magnitude to perpetuate.” A well-rehearsed border clearance system will be created on both sides, which in principle enables a relatively smooth movement of goods – albeit at higher bureaucratic costs than before.

Great Britain left the European Union last year. Since the beginning of 2021, the trade and cooperation agreement, which was only negotiated at Christmas, has been in effect for the time being, which brings numerous changes for companies. The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) assumes that German companies will have to submit around ten million customs declarations per year in the future. That alone should cost around 400 million euros.

Austria's largest direct bank no longer sees any growth opportunities in the low interest rate environment. No more business with private customers.

“I have nothing to give away!” With this slogan by the now deceased testimonial Niki Lauda, the Dutch direct bank ING DiBa finally managed to establish itself in Austria around ten years ago.

The growth figures climbed steadily, the bank often left established top dogs behind because of their cheeky and fresh appearances. For a long time, especially when it came to interest, hardly anyone could hold a candle to it. But a few years ago the growth hit the ceiling. Because in times of record interest rates – looking downwards – the bank, which has since been renamed ING, could no longer give anything to small savers. The interest rate for savings that can be redeemed on a daily basis is now only 0.01 percent.

Now the bank is pulling the rip cord and ceasing business with private customers in the country.

“We are legally obliged to pay out interest. In contrast to other countries, a custody fee is not possible, ”says ING spokeswoman Viktoria Gruber when asked by KURIER. In other words: banks in this country cannot pass on the negative interest rates in the euro zone to their customers, they are left with a minus.

However, other banks are much broader and can cover this loss through other areas – such as the securities business. But at ING, 430,000 of the total of 550,000 customers are pure savers. The mutual fund and financing business came too late and half-heartedly.

Of the approximately 350 employees in Vienna, all but a dozen who are responsible for corporate customers will lose their jobs. Last hope: A buyer is being sought for the private customer business who could take over part of it.

“We have grown moderately but steadily in Austria for more than 18 years and have been able to gain a foothold in an established banking market. However, as a relatively small player in a saturated market, we are reaching the limits of growth. We are therefore evaluating strategic options that also include a possible sale of the private customer business in Austria, ”says Barbaros Uygun, head of ING in Austria.

Follow the ING for customers

If you only have a savings account, you will receive a letter by email or post. A notice period of 2 months remains after receipt of the letter. Until then, online banking can still be accessed, and deposits are also secured. After the notice period, ING sends a final account statement and the credit – including the interest accrued up to that point – is transferred to the respective reference account of the customer (at another bank) at the beginning of June. “Please make sure you check whether your reference account is up-to-date,” emphasizes the ING.

Customers with current accounts, custody accounts and consumer or real estate loans are initially not affected by this step. “Your banking and your cards work as before. There are no changes in fees or services. Therefore it is not necessary to change the current account prematurely, ”emphasizes the institute.

The same goes for loans; ING advises against early rescheduling.

Consumer loans can be repaid early without any fees, while home loans incur expenses as before. Funds can still be traded on the free securities accounts. Here, too, ING does not recommend a hasty sale. Information on www.ing.at.

The German insurance group sees the cyber insurance division as a growth area.

Allianz and Munich Re are teaming up with the Internet giant Google in cyber insurance. As part of the cooperation, the two insurers offer companies that save their data in the Google cloud enhanced protection against hacker attacks and other Internet threats. In return, they receive data from Google about the vulnerability of the systems and the protection mechanisms of their future customers before the contract is signed, as the partners announced.

“This is extremely important. This is data to which we as an insurer traditionally had no access,” said Thomas Kang, who is responsible for cyber insurance in North America at Allianz's industrial insurance division, AGCS, on Tuesday.

The two German groups see cyber insurance as a growth area. More and more large entrepreneurs are relocating their data and even important applications for corporate management from their own servers to the cloud. Initially, Allianz and Munich Re are targeting companies from the USA with sales between 500 million and 5 billion dollars (between 415 million and 4.15 billion euros) with the Google cooperation. Sooner or later, smaller and larger companies as well as companies in other countries will be added.

The two insurers cover cyber damage up to 50 million dollars. Unlike in the past, however, customers can insure sales losses of up to a year instead of up to six months. The prerequisite for this is that you use a new diagnostic software from Google called “Risk Manager”. The tariffs for the “Cloud Protection +” cyber insurance are then also based on the protective measures installed.

Rinaldi SpA brings around 130 million euros in sales to the group.

The Porsche Holding, based in Salzburg, continues its expansion: At the beginning of April, Europe's largest car dealer takes over the Rinaldi SpA group in Piedmont, Italy, which brings a turnover of around 130 million euros and around 200 employees to the group. The Italian car dealer has locations in Turin (headquarters), Cirie and Rivoli and carries the brands Volkswagen, Audi, ŠKODA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles as well as Audi Prima Scelta Plus and Das Weltauto.

The takeover is subject to approval by the EU competition authority, the holding company announced in a broadcast on Tuesday. Rinaldi SpA is taken over by the Porsche Holding subsidiary Eurocar Italia. In 2020, the family company delivered 3,479 new cars and 2,253 used cars and achieved a turnover of 130 million euros.

Porsche Holding in Salzburg is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and is represented in Austria and 28 other countries. In the previous year around 653,000 new and 219,000 used vehicles were sold.

The company founded by an Austrian collects data in space and sells it to governments and corporations.

The satellite company Spire Global, founded and managed by the Lower Austrian investment banker Peter Platzer in San Francisco in 2012, is going public in New York.

The company collects data in space and sells it to governments and corporations. The transaction should be completed in the summer of 2021, as the company reported on Monday on its website and the “Börsianer” reported on Tuesday.

Spire Global is joining forces with Navsight, a so-called shell company (Special Purpose Acquisition Company, SPAC), for the IPO.

More than 100 Spire satellites are currently orbiting in space. The merged company is valued at $ 1.6 billion.

With 4.2 billion dollars from two financial investors, the company is to come out of the bankruptcy protection process.

The insolvent US car rental company Hertz is to be made afloat again with a 4.2 billion dollar (3.5 billion euros) capital injection from two financial investors. With the fresh money, Hertz could get out of the bankruptcy protection proceedings (“Chapter 11”) by the summer, the Florida company said on Tuesday.

Hertz became one of the first victims of the corona crisis in May 2020 when the demand for rental cars among business travelers and tourists collapsed. A debt burden of 19 billion dollars turned out to be too high for the traditional company, which also owns the Dollar and Thrifty brands. “We have realigned our business (…) and are preparing for an increasing demand after the pandemic subsides,” said CEO Paul Stone on Tuesday.

According to the insolvency plan, the travel industry specialist financial investors Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Opportunities are to take over up to 100 percent of Hertz. They are ready to invest around $ 2.3 billion directly in Hertz. In addition, they are supposed to secure a $ 1.9 billion capital increase, which will initially be offered to unsecured creditors.

This is intended to significantly reduce the debt burden. Hertz wants to finance its rental car fleet significantly less through loans in the future. The plan has yet to be approved by the bankruptcy court in the state of Delaware on April 16.

Sales slumped by 46 percent

Last year, Hertz's sales slumped 46 percent to $ 5.3 billion. The loss rose to $ 1.7 billion (2019: 58 million). Hertz was hit by the crisis much more than the German rival Sixt, who wants to take advantage of the weakness of domestic providers on the hotly contested US market.

So far, Sixt has had a market share of between one and two percent in the USA. “Our competitors are not doing well,” said CEO Erich Sixt at the annual press conference. Two of the three remaining US car rental companies are financially shaky.