#dieWIRTSCHAFTSPRAXIS-VW.THINKTANK I STATUS.QUO Q2/2025

Catch up: Israel moves deeper into Lebanon; oil prices surge

Jim Horgan has had a rough couple of years. As elevated interest rates created the worst housing market for sales in nearly three decades, the suburban Boston mortgage branch manager had seen his team of loan officers dwindle from eight to one, and getting customers was a slog.

China’s leaders are aiming for economic growth of around 5% this year, an ambitous goal given sluggish consumer spending, a global backlash against Chinese goods and a still shaky property market. In September, with the target sliding out of reach, Beijing unleashed a package of stimulus measures including interest rate cuts to turn things around. Success is not assured. Persistent deflationary pressures have also sparked a discussion about whether the world’s second-biggest economy is headed fo

Seit zehn Jahren gehen die Verkaufsflächen im Einzelhandel zurück. In den vergangenen beiden Jahren habe sich das beschleunigt, so der Marktforscher RegioData. Besonders betroffen seien die Bereiche Schuhe, Elektro, Möbel und Bekleidung. „Unternehmen expandieren weniger, verkleinern teilweise ihre Flächen, und die in letzter Zeit vermehrt aufgetretenen Insolvenzen im Einzelhandel führen zusätzlich zur Schließung von Geschäften“, heißt es in einem am Donnerstag veröffentlichten Bericht. Der Ausblick sei verhalten.

Daron Acemoglu wants to make clear right away that he has nothing against artificial intelligence. He gets the potential. “I’m not an AI pessimist,” he declares seconds into an interview.

Why property prices could keep rising for years

At 11:12 p.m. in Shenzhen on Sunday, China’s least affordable city eased rules for homebuyers. Less than an hour later, the first batch of prospective customers showed up at a sales center for a suburban project by local developer Excellence Group.

An interest-rate cut that European Central Bank officials deemed unlikely just three weeks ago now seems a near certainty when they next set borrowing costs on Oct. 17.

Health care has been a key driver of post-pandemic employment growth in the US, accounting for about one in five new jobs across the country since 2021. Now a hiring slowdown in that sector is making the broader labor market look increasingly shaky.

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said the market is pricing too many interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve given the US economy continues to grow.

With the last traces of the global inflation shock fading, the shift toward lower borrowing costs is about to maintain momentum as economies tread toward a new year fraught with unknowns.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will lower interest rates “over time,” while again emphasizing that the overall US economy remains on solid footing.

Euro-area inflation slowed below the European Central Bank’s 2% target for the first time since 2021 — backing investor bets that interest rates may be lowered more quickly than previously anticipated.

Easing inflation pressures and a deteriorating euro-zone economy support the case for an interest-rate cut this month, European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said.

Christine Lagarde said the European Central Bank is becoming more optimistic that it will be able to get inflation under control, and will reflect on that at its October interest-rate decision.

The Biden administration is planning to issue a regulation to cement the sweeping asylum restrictions it enacted at the southern border over the summer.

US-Notenbankchef Jerome Powell sieht die amerikanische Wirtschaft noch immer auf einem soliden Fundament und hat erklärt, die Fed werde die Leitzinsen “im Laufe der Zeit” weiter herabsetzen.

German inflation eased below the European Central Bank’s 2% target for the first time since February 2021 — supporting the case for another cut in interest rates in less than three weeks.

A funding squeeze is putting the city’s businesses under pressure amid China’s slowdown and weak consumer demand.

German inflation eased below the European Central Bank’s 2% target for the first time since February 2021 — supporting the case for another cut in interest rates in less than three weeks.

Volvo Car AB and dozens of industrial manufacturers urged Brussels to stick to a plan to halt sales of new combustion-engine cars starting 2035. But Europe’s biggest automakers are keeping quiet.

Chinese stocks extended one of their most remarkable turnarounds in history, soaring for a ninth straight day as government stimulus entices investors back to one of the most beaten-down markets worldwide.

Inflation has eased more than expected in two of the euro zone's biggest economies and the German jobs market has continued to cool this month, adding to an already substantial case for the European Central Bank to cut borrowing costs further next month.

It’s wrong to expect that a cycle of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve will suddenly revive the green transition, according to Barry Norris, the founder and chief investment officer of UK hedge fund Argonaut Capital Partners.

As valuations and competitiveness are hit, companies are crying foul and saying the US is addressing the climate issue better.