Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Germany and Covid-19: 8 September 2020

1.  Focus reported today that four German states.....Hamburg , Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Lower Saxony....are going to allow brothels to reopen, and put hookers back into action.  Issue?  Well....the wording from the four states say that 'strict conditions' are required. 

Just guessing here, but probably both the hooker and customer have to wear masks.  I might go and expect a few guys to pass out with minimal oxygen flow via the mask situation. 

2.  Car incentives going back into action?  There is talk today via ARD news, that the CDU Party wants to engage with the SPD, and give consumers some 'action' on new car sales.  How much?  No one says.

There is a lot of fear over car manufacturing going into a crisis period, and fewer cars being sold. 

Negative here?  The Greens and SPD have openly said no over the past six months to this.....suggesting that any incentive be over battery cars only.  If you look for excitement among Germans over the battery-cars.....it has yet to arrive.

How much incentive would be needed?  If you cut the sales tax by half.....for a 20k Euro car, it'd be in the 1,600 Euro range for savings.  For a 40k Euro car, close to 3,200 Euro range.  But you'd have to carry this through remainder of 2020 and half of 2021. 

3.  Police are reporting (via a N-TV piece) that the drug trade during this Corona period....has escalated.  Cocaine offenses over the past 12 months?  Up by 12-percent.  Course, police methods may have improved and they are simply catching more with better detection methods.

4.  Lufthansa taking more downsizing measures?  N-TV had a short segment today and talked about the chatter.  They are looking way past 2020 and even 2021....with expectations of a 'normal' year....several years off (2024 now openly expected as a normal year).  Aircrews being let go?  Could be. 

Current pace of losses?  Half-a-billion a month.

5.  Finally,   RKI says they are doing a mass test on antibodies in one particular region in Bavaria....Straubing.  Hoping to get better numbers on people who didn't have symptoms but did have the virus. 2k locals to be tested. 




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