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

The consumer price index was expected to increase 0.2% in April for a 2.4% annual inflation rate.

Am Dienstag hat die Regierung das neue Doppelbudget vorgelegt, starke Einschnitte gibt es vor allem im Klima- und Umweltbereich. Im Gespräch mit ORF.at spricht WIFO-Expertin Margit Schratzenstaller hier von einem „wenig zukunftsfähigen“ Budget. Vor dem Hintergrund, dass klimaschädliche Subventionen im Gegenteil sogar ausgebaut werden, ortet sie „ein gewisses Ungleichgewicht“. Mit großem Unverständnis reagierten auch zahlreiche Umwelt-NGOs.

Many Europeans are complacent about the threat Russia poses—and misunderstand how to deter its president

An awful lot is now riding on the administration never having meant a word it was saying.

Traders lowered their bets on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cuts this year, pricing in just two reductions for 2025 after the US and China agreed to cut tariffs and moderate their trade war.

China’s export growth rose even as shipments to the US slumped sharply in the first month after President Donald Trump hit its goods with tariffs above 100%, a boost for a domestic economy that’s been increasingly reliant on foreign demand.

China’s falling marriage rate is exacerbating a demographic crisis in the world's second-largest economy, as Beijing's pro-natalist policies fall flat.

The European Central Bank needs a “steady hand” and mustn’t lower borrowing costs too much as inflation could turn out to be higher in the future, Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said.

The European Central Bank will lower borrowing costs more than previously expected this year to below 2% as inflation is seen undershooting the institution’s target in early 2026, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Fed Meeting Today: Rate Cuts, Powell Speech, Live News & Analysis

For more than 20 years, Chinese entrepreneur Sandy Zeng built a pet products business selling feeding bowls and toys to American homes. He’s now looking hard at cats and dogs in other markets.

Chinese electric vehicles are losing momentum in Europe, but the nation’s automakers are selling more cars than ever in the region by throttling up deliveries of hybrids and combustion engine-powered models.

Die Internationale Energieagentur (IEA) hat am Mittwoch ihren neuen Bericht zum weltweiten Ausstoß von Methan vorgelegt, das als weitaus klimaschädlicher als CO2 eingestuft wird. Demnach ist der Methanausstoß im Energiesektor 2024 annähernd auf Rekordniveau, nur 2019 sei der Wert höher gewesen. Auch zeigen die Daten: Stillgelegte Öl-, Gas- und Kohleförderanlagen sind Methanquellen in unvermutetem Ausmaß.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held bilateral meetings in Moscow, emphasizing the alliance between their countries as they seek to upend the US-led world order.

Die Regierung hat sich „im Wesentlichen“ auf das Doppelbudget für die Jahre 2025 und 2026 verständigt. Das verkündete Staatssekretär Alexander Pröll (ÖVP) am Donnerstagnachmittag in einem Pressegespräch. SPÖ-Regierungskoordinatorin Michaela Schmidt (SPÖ) ergänzte: „Wir haben die 6,4 Milliarden aufgestellt.“ Details bleiben aber bis zur Budgetrede am Dienstag offen.

Why economists are turning to a 50-year-old book on the Depression

The foreign-exchange market has been reinvigorated by recent events

Might tariffs fall from their mountainous highs?

China’s trade flows increased at the end of April, indicating the damage from US tariffs has yet to manifest in actual shipments even though the trade war is widely expected to eventually slow the world’s second-largest economy.