Tuesday, March 19

Business

Car Dealer Van Mossel Wants to Grow in Europe With a German Takeover
Business, Europe, Germany, News

Car Dealer Van Mossel Wants to Grow in Europe With a German Takeover

Car dealer Van Mossel Automotive Group will be more certainly committed to Germany. With the takeover of dealer group Hugo Pfohe from the Hamburg region, the company from Waalwijk is taking its first major step outside the Benelux. The takeover "fits perfectly into our European growth strategy", says Van Mossel CEO Eric Berkhof. The acquisition still needs to be approved by the German competition authority. Van Mossel expects that to happen halfway through next month. “Hugo Pfohe is located in a strategic region for us in Germany,” says Berkhof. “Our existing lease companies, located in Düsseldorf, are a perfect addition to this.” Hugo Pfohe has 700 employees and a turnover of 300 million euros. The family business trades in seven car brands. The 75-year-old Van Mossel claims...
ECB Boss Lagarde: We are Not Done Raising Interest Rates Yet
Business, Europe, News

ECB Boss Lagarde: We are Not Done Raising Interest Rates Yet

The European Central Bank (ECB) has not yet finished raising interest rates. Although policymakers opted for a more minor interest rate step than last time, interest rates are not yet restricting the economy enough, said ECB president Christine Lagarde. In addition, the ECB announced that it would reinvest less released bonds that the bank has bought up in recent years. From July, this will be reduced by 25 billion euros per month. Currently, reinvestments are still decreasing by 15 billion euros every month. Both the interest rate and the reduction in loan purchases have effects that policymakers are already seeing. Households and businesses are already borrowing less because this has become more expensive. But at the same time, there are still many things that could push in...
Reuters: US Leads Talks on Rescue of First Republic Bank
Business, News, US

Reuters: US Leads Talks on Rescue of First Republic Bank

The US government is coordinating talks about an emergency intervention to save the First Republic Bank, Reuters news agency reports based on insiders. The Ministry of Finance, the central bank and the regulator FDIC are trying to get companies from the financial sector to rescue the medium-sized bank. Attempts to save the First Republic from bankruptcy with help from the private sector have failed to produce a deal. It is still unclear whether the US government is also prepared to participate in a rescue operation. But the involvement of government agencies, according to a Reuters source, gives First Republic executives more confidence as they look for a solution. The US Treasury Department declined to comment on Reuters' questions about the news. The Federal Reserve and the...
Paris Stock Exchange Hits New Record
Business, Europe, France, News

Paris Stock Exchange Hits New Record

The Paris stock exchange hit a new all-time high on Tuesday. At the beginning of March, the star index CAC 40 was already just above 7,400 points, and after the extended Easter weekend, the index did even more. Just before 4 p.m., the Paris stock exchange reached 7,403.67 points. After the financial turmoil that has blown over from the American banks in recent weeks, investors seem willing to retake risks. After the peak of March 6, the French star index took another sharp plunge due to that banking crisis - on March 20, the CAC 40 was listed at less than 6,800 points. Since the beginning of this year, the CAC 40 has grown 14 percent in value. The banks included in the star index have not yet been able to recover the losses they incurred in the wake of the bankruptcy of the U...
US Inflation Cools Further in February
Business, News, US

US Inflation Cools Further in February

Americans spent 6 percent more on groceries, services or other living expenses in February. Inflation thus decreased slightly compared to the previous month. However, the inflation rate was in line with economists' average expectations. In January, consumer prices still rose by 6.4 percent annually. Excluding the volatile prices for food and fuel, prices rose on average by 5.5 percent, which was also in line with expectations. In January, this so-called core inflation was still 5.6 percent. Daily life in the United States became 0.4 percent more expensive between January and February, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures. Prices rose by 0.5 percent between January and December. Although inflation seems cooling down, it is still well above the US central ba...
Advertisers Spend Another Record Amount on Radio Advertising
Business, News, Technology

Advertisers Spend Another Record Amount on Radio Advertising

Advertisers spent a record amount on radio advertising last year. Audify, the marketing organization that represents all major audio makers, reported this. In total, the expenditures yielded almost 226 million euros, 16 million euros more than a year earlier. According to Audify, more was invested in the first quarter compared to the same quarter in 2021. Then the increase was almost 16 percent on an annual basis. In absolute terms, they generated the most income in the fourth quarter, more than 81 million euros. The number of audio advertising companies also grew in 2022 to more than 2200. They purchased a total of more than 5.7 million spots. Retail is the industry that makes the most use of this form of advertising.v
US Law in the Works That could Ban TikTok
Business, China, News, Technology, US

US Law in the Works That could Ban TikTok

On Tuesday, two US senators will introduce a bill that would give the president the power to label and ban technology from abroad as a threat. Among other things, the law would allow President Joe Biden to ban the popular platform TikTok. TikTok is owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance and has come under fire since the company admitted that certain employees had access to users' data in the United States and Europe. Biden's predecessor Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok in the US in 2020, but his planned measures failed in court. The new bill was drafted jointly by a Republican and a Democratic senator. An anonymous source tells Reuters that the White House has provided input for the motion. Last week, another proposal that could lead to a ban on TikTok was rejected by ...
Volkswagen Recalls 270,000 Cars Worldwide Due to Defective Airbags
Business, Europe, Germany, News, World

Volkswagen Recalls 270,000 Cars Worldwide Due to Defective Airbags

Volkswagen recalls another 270,000 cars worldwide due to safety risks related to airbags. The German car brand announced this on Monday. According to a VW spokesperson, the current recall concerns cars that were sold "in warm countries, for example, in South America". It affects specific versions of the models Golf, Passat, Fox, the Pickup Saveiro and the Brazilian sedan Voyage built between 2013 and 2017 The affected cars have airbags from the Japanese manufacturer Takata. According to the German traffic authority KBA, there are faults in the gas generator of the front airbags, which can lead to "uncontrolled deployment and the detachment of metal fragments that could injure occupants". There have been several accidents involving airbags in the past, some of them serious. ...
Aircraft Manufacturer Airbus Sees Profit Rise to a New Record
Business, News

Aircraft Manufacturer Airbus Sees Profit Rise to a New Record

European aircraft maker Airbus saw profits rise to a new record level last year, helped by the aviation industry's continued recovery from the corona pandemic. Due to the increased demand for air travel, Airbus sees sales increase. The net profit amounted to more than 4.2 billion euros. That is 1 percent more than a year earlier when a record profit was also recorded. The turnover of Airbus, which also has a defence and aerospace branch, rose by 13 percent to 58.8 billion euros. In addition to increased commercial aircraft deliveries, the strong dollar also benefited. Airbus sells its planes in dollars. Airbus delivered 661 commercial aircraft last year, compared to 611 a year earlier. The company lowered production targets several times last year due to parts supply problems an...
Rumour: Apple Will Release a Foldable iPad in 2024
Business, News, Technology

Rumour: Apple Will Release a Foldable iPad in 2024

Foldable screens have been hip for several years with brands such as Samsung and OPPO, but Apple has remained averse to this hype until now. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this will change next year when the tech giant introduces a foldable iPad. Other insiders, however, have their doubts about that claim. In a series of tweets, Ming-Chi Kuo, usually very knowledgeable about Apple's future plans, says there won't be a new iPad for the next nine to 12 months. According to the TF International Securities analyst, Apple is fully focusing on a brand new foldable model, which should see the light of day in 2024. Production would take place at the Chinese company Anjie technology. Kuo gets his information from sources he has in Apple's Asian supply chain, says MacRumors. Ming-C...