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

European Central Bank officials were keen to maintain flexibility on the speed of interest-rate reductions with inflation not fully defeated and risks to the euro-zone economy building, an account of their last policy decision showed.

Three Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday were unfazed by a higher-than-forecast September inflation report, suggesting the US central bank can continue lowering interest rates, but a fourth hinted he may favor a pause at their next meeting.

China has asked its financial institutions to beef up monitoring of the nation’s wealth management products, people familiar with the matter said, after investors pulled some $149 billion to chase a rally in stocks.

Underlying US inflation rose more than forecast in September, representing a pause in the recent progress toward moderating price pressures.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is unlikely to win another big interest-rate cut from his policy committee so long as the labor market holds up.

Wages offered to new hires in China declined after two straight quarters of gains, in a sign of a weakening labor market that’s exacerbating persisting deflation and weighing on economic growth.

Economists anticipate that key measures of inflation decelerated in September, in spite of price pressures in some categories of goods including used cars.

China’s central bank has set up a swap facility to provide liquidity to institutional investors to buy stocks, part of a broad stimulus package announced earlier that ignited a rally in equities.

„Die aktuelle Budgetsituation ist echt nicht leicht“, hat Fiskalrat-Präsident Christoph Badelt am Mittwoch die Ausgangslage für die künftige Regierung zusammengefasst. In einer Pressekonferenz forderte er gemeinsam mit dem Zentrum für Verwaltungsforschung (KDZ) und dem Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitut (WIFO) rasche Systemreformen. Erneut wurden Zweifel an der Sinnhaftigkeit des Klimabonus für alle laut.

The European Central Bank will very probably lower interest rates next week and will loosen monetary policy again at future meetings depending on progress combating price rises, Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Peter Kazimir offered the only real resistance so far to a third cut of the year in interest rates next week — despite that outcome looking more and more assured.

The German economy is likely to experience another year of contraction with the US election posing an additional risk to Europe’s growth, according to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel.

China said it would hold a briefing on fiscal policy on Saturday as investors look for additional measures to stimulate the world’s No. 2 economy.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said risks to the central bank’s employment and inflation goals are now closer to equal.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said policymakers should use a careful, data-dependent approach as they lower interest rates to help preserve the strength of the US economy.

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Die Sanierung von kikaLeiner schreitet langsamer voran als geplant. Die heimische Möbelkette hat die Zahl der Beschäftigten im Laufe des Jahres von 1.900 auf 1.400 reduziert, wie die Oberösterreichischen Nachrichten (Mittwochausgabe) berichten.

Eine Militärbasis im Süden Kambodschas deutet darauf hin, dass China seinen Einfluss in Ländern in der Region vergrößern will. Peking ließ dort in den vergangenen Jahren einen eigenen Pier bauen. Laut aktuellen Satellitenbildern liegen dort zwei chinesische Kriegsschiffe vor Anker, wie die BBC am Dienstag schrieb. Kambodscha, das noch vor wenigen Jahren eng mit den USA zusammenarbeitete, beschwichtigte – doch Nachbarstaaten sind besorgt.

Deutschland gilt als Nation der Mieter – und das zu Recht. In keinem anderen EU-Land wohnen weniger Menschen im Eigentum als in der Bundesrepublik. Auch der Anteil der Personen, die in einem Haus leben, ist hierzulande vergleichsweise gering.

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The move came days after the European Union pressed ahead in adopting definitive tariffs of up to 45% on China-made battery electric vehicles last Friday.

Ever since President Xi Jinping sought to draw a line under China’s slowdown last month, investors have clamored for him to back up monetary easing with a powerful fiscal stimulus to help fuel one of the nation’s biggest stock rallies in years.

China’s latest steps to revive the housing market have had an immediate impact, judging from reports of brisk sales and buyer interest during the nation’s week-long holiday. Whether the rebound will be sustained is another matter.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem said he supported the US central bank’s decision last month to lower interest rates by a half point, but emphasized he’d prefer further reductions to be gradual.

Reducing interest rates in October wouldn’t mean that the European Central Bank is certain to do so again at its final meeting of the year, according to Governing Council member Bostjan Vasle.

China said it’s confident in reaching its economic targets this year and promised to further support growth, although it held back in unleashing more major stimulus in a disappointment to investors looking for more fuel for a world-beating stock rally.

Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said the US central bank should keep its focus on bringing inflation back to its 2% target, though with a “balanced approach” that avoids an “undesirable” slowdown in employment growth and economic expansion.

Beijing’s pivot toward economic stimulus has sparked fevered stock buying from hedge funds and individual investors. But big asset allocators and multinational companies are wary of rushing back into Asia’s largest economy.