Finance

General director Horst Leitner

The Aldi-Süd Group is investing 1.5 billion euros in digitization, and they want to start in Austria. That's going to change.

The Aldi-Süd group, to which the local discounter Hofer belongs, is buttering 1.5 billion in a digital offensive. Austria will be the pilot country, as Hofer boss Horst Leitner revealed in a talk with the magazine “trend”.

What customers will notice first, what else is planned.

The days of paper labels are numbered. The displays are switched to digital displays. This saves employees time-consuming manual labor, and changes can be made easily at the push of a button.

We are currently looking for alternatives. Possible solutions are cell phones or self-scanning. Leitner's vision: that you no longer have to go to the checkout. For many customers, “this is the most annoying phase when shopping”. The most likely concepts are those that Amazon is testing in US supermarkets – i.e. sensors in shopping carts or cameras. You record what you are packing and automatically deduct the money.

That is also part of the offensive.

It should also go around analogously. The redesign of the markets is planned. Top topic here: Fresh items should be “very, very important” and should go straight to the entrances. According to Horst Leitner, this is an assortment that cannot easily be replaced by online trading.

Despite the decrease in traffic, almost as many drivers were caught using their mobile phones at the wheel in the 2020 corona year as in 2019 and significantly more than in 2018, the VCÖ points out. On average, every four and a half minutes, a cell phone offense in traffic was punished by the executive. In six federal states, the number of cell phone offenses even increased.

Image: dpa

In the 2020 corona year in Austria, 121,211 drivers were caught using prohibited cell phone calls at the wheel, as the VCÖ referred to data from the Ministry of the Interior. The number of cell phone violations was only 2,677 lower than in 2019 and even more than 12,000 higher than five years earlier in 2015, reported the VCÖ. And the actual number of offenses is likely to be many times higher, according to the VCÖ.

How many offenses are punished mainly depends on the density of controls. In six federal states, the number of cell phone violations even increased despite the decline in traffic in the Corona year 2020. The executive in Vienna punished most of the cases with 27,244, followed closely by Lower Austria with 24,578 and, at a clear distance, Upper Austria (16,606) and Styria (15,871), reported the VCÖ.

“Anyone who speaks on the phone with a cell phone to their ear reacts as badly as an alcoholic with 0.8 per mille. Motorists using cell phones react about half a second later. In road traffic, where a fraction of a second often decides whether an accident will occur or not, that can have fatal consequences, “said VCÖ expert Michael Schwendinger. If you write messages on your mobile phone while driving, you can even fly blind for up to two seconds.

According to the VCÖ, the current penalty of 50 euros bears no relation to the potential risk of the offense. “In Europe Austria is one of those countries where the amount of fines is very low. In Italy the amount of fines is more than three times as high at 165 euros as in Austria, in Spain and Denmark with 200 euros each and around four times as high in the Netherlands 240 euros, almost five times as high. In Germany there is not only a 100 euros fine, but also a point in the points driving license. This can be used to raise awareness among those who do not adhere to the ban on cell phones, “said Schwendinger. The expert advocated that cell phones at the wheel should also be included in the reservation system in Austria.

The pub gardens are allowed to reopen from Easter.

WKÖ: Kraus-Winkler and Pulker: “Regional solutions and pub gardens are bright spots, but most of the businesses do not benefit.”

“Even if the path announced on Monday of a regionally different approach and first opening steps in Vorarlberg as well as the Austria-wide opening of the pub gardens from Easter are bright spots, frustration and disappointment predominate for the majority of our businesses, because for them this means an extension of the lockdown” , Susanne Kraus-Winkler and Mario Pulker, the representatives of the hotel and catering trade associations in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), comment on the federal government's current timetable.

Since the permanent lockdown is an enormous burden for entrepreneurs and their employees as well as guests, many companies had pressed for a quick opening. “What must now follow quickly, parallel to the test run in Vorarlberg, is a perspective for all of our companies in all federal states.”

Kraus-Winkler: “We have shown how safe opening works and have done our homework. Prevention and hygiene measures are on the table, together with entry tests as well as distance and mask requirements, we could have offered our guests the greatest possible safety. You have to go on holiday in Austria believe again. “

The fact that it is now 'Please wait' again for almost everyone affects not only the companies in the marrow. “People in Austria also urgently need safe meeting places again, they just want to have a good meal again or spend a few relaxing days away from their own living room. We know from surveys that they are willing to take all the necessary security measures.” emphasizes gastro chairman Pulker.

The fact that Austria-wide opening of the catering and hotel industry is not finally within reach, as hoped, is a major setback for the tourism industry. “It was important to us that all those who want to open can now open. The virus will be with us for even longer, so we have to find a practicable, feasible way to live with it,” says Pulker with conviction. The lack of planning security also weighs heavily on entrepreneurs.

Hotel spokeswoman Kraus-Winkler: “We have repeatedly pointed out the necessary lead time. With each further postponement, more and more companies, but also employees, lose confidence in a predictable, early opening. The longer this is delayed, the more so It will also be more difficult to keep employees or to find them for the coming season. “

The current results of the previous winter season reflect the dramatic situation of the establishments – with a fall in overnight stays of 92.3% from November 2020 to January 2021. The massive drop in overnight stays naturally leads to high sales losses that cannot be fully compensated by the aid measures.

Kraus-Winkler emphasizes that a long-term solution is urgently needed for the companies' incurring and still to be borrowed – through bridging loans and deferred taxes and duties: “That can only mean: reduce external capital, strengthen equity and, very importantly, secure liquidity again now. Companies have their backs to the wall here. “

The head of the Chamber of Commerce, Harald Mahrer, told APA: “Now we have our foot in the door. In the next step, we will bring the guests into the bars, hotels and event halls.” And Secretary General Karlheinz Kopf adds: “” Illegal meetings and celebrations without tests and without security measures are a much greater risk than opening up on the basis of all concepts that have already worked in the summer. “

Sales of the video service increased by almost 370 percent in the fourth quarter.

The video service Zoom continues to grow in the three-digit percentage range thanks to the ongoing trend towards home offices. In the fourth fiscal quarter, sales jumped 369 percent to $ 882.5 million, as the US company announced on Monday evening. Zoom Video now has around 467,000 customers with more than ten employees, which corresponds to an increase of 470 percent.

Recently, more and more users who have been using the service regularly since the outbreak of the pandemic have opted for a paid subscription model. Accordingly, the profit attributable to the shareholders climbed to around $ 260 million from just $ 15.3 million in the same period last year. That was significantly more than analysts expected. After the hours of trading, the share climbed almost ten percent.

“Strong final spurt”

“The fourth quarter marked a strong final spurt in an unprecedented year for Zoom,” said company founder and CEO Eric S. Yuan, referring to Zoom's role as an “engine for modern work from everywhere”. Yuan is confident that it will continue to grow strongly in the current fiscal year. For the first quarter to the end of April, Zoom forecasts revenues between $ 900 million and $ 905 million and for the fiscal year between $ 3.76 billion and $ 3.78 billion.

For many people in the home office, Zoom has become synonymous with video conferencing, with which employees can exchange ideas and talk to customers, or students can network with teachers. The company founded in San Jose in 2011, which has since struggled with security gaps, for example in encryption or so-called zoom-bombing, is not without competition. Video calls and conferences are also possible, for example, via the Teams office software from Microsoft, Webex from Cisco or offers from tech giants Google and Facebook.

Due to an email from Google, users fear that their precious photo memories have been defaced.

The pixel bird of horror

Google scares the users of the Google Photos app with a picture of a bird. Not because the picture itself is terrible, but because it suggests that all the photos previously stored in the cloud have been irrevocably ruined.

The pictures taken can be automatically uploaded to Google Photos in 2 quality levels: “High quality” and “Original quality”. The app states that “original quality” means that “photos and videos are saved without any loss of quality”. With “high quality”, “content of slightly lower quality is saved”.

Warning by mail

In 2015, when Google Photos was launched, Google said it was “almost identical in quality”. In an email that Google sends to the users of the app, it doesn't look like “almost identical quality” at all. On the left a bird can be seen normally, on the right it is brutally pixelated.

The pixel bird of horror

Google writes: “Photos in original quality get most of the details, let you zoom in and crop and print images with less pixelation.” Together with the image, this suggests that photos that are uploaded with “high quality” are practically useless.

Forever lost

That would be fatal for millions of Android users. Because with Google Photos, backing up photos with “high quality” has been free of charge since the introduction – that is, they are not deducted from the available Google One storage space.

That's why many users uploaded their pictures to Google Photos just like that. If you have then deleted the pictures on your mobile phone to free up storage space, a corresponding function is integrated in Google Photos, that would mean that you now only have heavily pixelated photos.

No panic

Even if the fear now arises that precious memories and successful selfies will turn into a mash of pixels: That is not the case. This rumor only spread because of the photo in the mail, as well as the upcoming deadline in June.

As things stand now, Google will not automatically convert photos uploaded with “High Quality” to a lower quality. However, from June 1, 2021, all images and videos uploaded to Google Photos will still be deducted from the storage space – regardless of the quality. Only 15 GB are free, if you upload more you have to pay.

Charge of scare tactics

The image sent by Google is calculated scare tactics, accuse users in the social networks of the US group. The aim is to get as many users as possible to switch to “original quality” because the photos uploaded in this way are larger. And larger images take up more storage space. And if more storage space is required, users have to take out paid cloud storage subscriptions.

However, the exaggerated image of the bird is not entirely unrealistic. Because photos in “high quality” are uploaded with a maximum of 16 megapixels and compression. Current cell phones, such as those from Samsung, can, if desired, take photos with more than 100 megapixels. If you were to zoom into such an image on a bird a little further away, the 16-megapixel photo would actually show noticeably lower details and look washed out and / or pixelated.

This year's UN donor conference for Yemen only raised around 1.7 billion dollars (1.4 billion euros) in donations, which is less than half the amount needed. The result was “disappointing”, announced UN Secretary General António Guterres on Monday evening. The sum is less than at the donor conference last year and one billion dollars less than in 2019.

Image: APA (AFP)

This year, the UN will need around $ 3.85 billion for emergency aid in the civil war country. In the face of impending famine and millions of victims of the conflict, Guterres urgently asked for donations. “The humanitarian situation in Yemen has never been worse,” he said at the start of the online conference. Nevertheless, the donations fell last year – with “brutal” consequences. Organizations that provided water, food and medical aid should have reduced or stopped their work. “Cutting aid funds is a death sentence,” said Guterres.

Austria pledged six million euros in emergency aid for the civil war country for the current year. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg named this amount on Twitter on Monday. “After years of conflict, the humanitarian situation in Yemen is deeply alarming,” wrote Schallenberg. The corona pandemic is exacerbating the situation.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the six million euro aid includes three million euros from the Foreign Disaster Fund (AKF), which is to be approved by the Council of Ministers this week. In addition, there are another two million from the foreign disaster fund and around one million from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) for the UN children's aid organization UNICEF, it said.

Saudi Arabia, which is fighting the Houthi rebels with allies in Yemen, pledged $ 430 million and the United Arab Emirates, Riyadh's most important ally, pledged $ 230 million. The European Commission pledged 95 million euros. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pledged a further 200 million euros for Germany.

Children suffer particularly badly from the conflict. “Childhood in Yemen is a special kind of hell,” said Guterres. Almost half of all children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition. Without rapid medical treatment, 400,000 could die. “The war is devouring a whole generation,” said the UN Secretary General. A total of 16 of the 29 million inhabitants need food aid.

In Yemen, a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia has been fighting alongside the government against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for almost six years. They control large parts of the north and dominate almost all parts of public life there.

The catering industry is seriously disappointed by the decisions made by the federal government. The opening of the guest gardens at Easter is not enough. Many companies have no outdoor area or it is too small to be able to present the opening economically, said host spokesman Mario Pulker on Monday evening. He called for an increase in aid. The catering has been closed for 17 weeks, Pulker is now assuming that at least another six weeks will be added.

The opening of the pub gardens at the beginning of the Easter holidays on March 27 was “a drop in the ocean” and “a blow in the pit of the stomach,” said Pulker, describing the situation. While the press conference with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) was still going on, many restaurateurs wrote him horrified news. There is an outcry through the industry, said Pulker.

April as the target for further opening steps

For indoor restaurants and hotels, the government named April as the target for further opening steps on Monday evening, but no specific date. Pulker said he could have lived with it if the government had brought an April 1st opening into play in renewed deliberations on March 15th. “But as it is, we will continue to be left blind,” complained the industry representative. There is also “zero perspective” for the hotel industry. The employees would therefore run away from both gastronomy and tourism.

Vienna now wants to examine “to what extent we can also provide public spaces for catering, including spaces that go beyond this and can be used by restaurateurs,” announced Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ). “It makes more sense, there are rules of the game that consumers can use as a guide than there is a proliferation of meetings that take place somewhere in a semi-public space.”

Mahrer: “Now we have our foot in the door”

The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Harald Mahrer, can see something positive about the opening of the guest gardens, as he said: “Now we have our foot in the door. In the next step, we will bring the guests into the bars, hotels and event halls.” The top of the Chamber of Commerce calls for a step-by-step plan for opening up all industries and points out that two thirds of all infections would take place in the private sector. “Illegal meetings and celebrations without tests and without security measures are a much greater risk than opening up on the basis of all concepts that have already worked in the summer and have been continuously developed, refined and in many cases officially approved,” said WKÖ General Secretary Karlheinz Kopf in a broadcast .

“Frustration and disappointment”

Hotel industry association chairwoman Susanne Kraus-Winkler also spoke of “frustration and disappointment” in a statement on Monday. “With every further postponement, more and more companies, but also employees, lose confidence in a predictable, early opening. The longer this is delayed, the more difficult it will be to keep employees or to find them for the coming season.” The industry has done its homework and has prepared preventive and hygiene measures. “Together with entry tests as well as distance and mask requirements, we could have offered our guests the greatest possible security.”

The chairman of the tourism and leisure sector in the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), Robert Seeber, wants the government to “finally make a binding commitment to reopen it quickly and permanently”. For the announced trial run in Vorarlberg, there is now an urgent need for prospects for all tourism businesses throughout Austria. “If we adhere to the necessary rules of the game, it can be opened and kept open safely,” believes Seeber. “It is necessary and long overdue that a specific date is finally set and by then the support is improved and processed quickly and unbureaucratically. In the case of short-time work, tourism-specific adaptations are necessary as well as liquidity assistance for the restart process.”

On June 17th, the brothers Alexander and Konstantin will jointly become CEOs of the car rental company.

Erich Sixt, CEO and major shareholder of Germany's largest car rental company, hands the business over to his sons Alexander and Konstantin. After the annual general meeting on June 16, the 76-year-old is leaving the management board and then wants to take over the chairmanship of the supervisory board, the company announced on Monday in Pullach near Munich. The supervisory board appointed Alexander and Konstantin Sixt as joint chairmen of the board from June 17th.

With them, the fourth generation of the Sixt family takes over management of the company. Alexander and Konstantin Sixt studied business administration in London and Paris and have been on the board since 2015. You are responsible for the group strategy and for sales and are driving the consolidation and digital networking of classic car rental, car sharing and car subscriptions.

First annual loss due to Corona

Erich Sixt will be 77 at the end of June. He led the company for half a century. At the age of 25, he took over the management of the company for his sick father in 1969 with 200 rental cars and turned it into a group with almost 3 billion euros in sales. Lockdowns and travel restrictions in the corona crisis, however, caused sales to collapse last year. In November Erich Sixt announced the first annual loss in the company's history. He wants to present the balance sheet figures on Tuesday.

The Swiss Federal President, Guy Parmelin, elected for 2021, will visit Vienna on Tuesday. It is the first trip abroad by the Swiss Federal President. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will receive Parmelin in the morning. Parmelin is accompanied by State Secretary Livia Leu, who, as Switzerland's chief negotiator, is responsible for the European dossier in Brussels, as reported by the Swiss news agency sda.

Image: APA (AFP)

The presidential chancellery announced in advance that the conversation between the two heads of state will be about coping with the Covid crisis and its economic and social consequences, as well as important bilateral, but also international issues. Switzerland's relations with the European Union should also be discussed. This is probably about the planned framework agreement. In Switzerland, the treaty is controversial because of the arbitration role for the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which Brussels wants.

Parmelin, who is also Minister of Economics, Education and Research and a member of the traditionally Eurosceptic right-wing conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP), will also meet with Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (both ÖVP). The presidential chancellery emphasized that bilateral relations between Switzerland and Austria are “excellent”. Switzerland is Austria's fourth largest trading partner.

Switzerland has a 7-day incidence of 82.7, while in Austria the number of new infections with the coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants climbed to 159 in the past seven days. In Switzerland, shops and leisure facilities such as museums, zoos and some sports facilities reopened on Monday after being closed for six weeks.

Knowledge protects against wrong decisions – also and especially when it comes to finances. But that has not yet arrived everywhere.

“An investment in knowledge still pays the best interest.” What Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the USA, knew about 300 years ago is still relevant today. Especially when it comes to your own finances. Because knowledge protects against wrong decisions. Unfortunately, Franklin's insight into finance and economics has not yet fully penetrated many of today's youth.

There are two reasons. First: Austria is hostile towards entrepreneurs and the economy. Anyone who achieves something is suspect. Second: Education has been leveling down for decades. Mediocrity is the measure of all things.

In the meantime, many associations and companies have devoted themselves to financial education – but a socio-political commitment to entrepreneurship and economics as a driver of progress is required. Until then, the money will still come out of the machine.