Monday, March 20, 2023

Eight German News Stories

 1. Credit Suiss deal done....USB bought them for just over 3-billion Euro (originally starting a bid of 1-billion).  In addition, the Swiss National Bank gave 100-billion Euro to cover equity (doesn't appear to be a pay-back).  Share-holders?  It appears that whatever value each share was before.....60-percent was carved off or just dissolved.  

Is the crisis over for Credit Suiss?  Well....as long as all the under-water crap is 'dumped'....yeah.  A lot of this 'saving' goes back to the Swiss National Bank having 100-billion Euro to give away, and hopefully.....this doesn't occur again in ten years with USB failing. 

Fees for accounts likely to increase?  I wouldn't be shocked if you see this within sixty to ninety days.  

2.  Focus had some story which might be 50-percent BS.....suggesting that the Kremlin is in some active mode to find a 'recruit' (replacement) for Putin.  Putin, I would suggest, has to be approving this.  

3.  Over the weekend, the Ministry of Economics came out and said 'panic-planning and panic-buying' over this perceived EU mandate for home renovation and the suggested German mandate to end new natural gas/oil heating systems....should be halted or openly discussed first.   

Kinda funny.

There's a lot of hype going on, and the Ministry is responsible for 50-percent of it (the EU for the remainder).  

A curious note here....if I were a 15-year old German kid looking at apprentice opportunities...man, there's a hell of a renovation wave coming over the next ten years and you could be in the perfect position to participate and profit off the wave. 

4.  Just an odd Anne Will public forum show from Sunday evening.  Topic?  The German military and where they stand on competence.  

I'll just say a fair amount of the discussion came to the pro-peace/anti-military 'slant' on things.....not to go and waste a lot of money on military hardware because you might be tempted to enter into a conflict.

If you go and review the social media commentary....I'd say it was well over sixty-percent making a stand for the limited expenditures and not to get into a military conflict.

I should note....Anne Will is an intellectual forum, and the bulk of Germans are not watching it at the 9:45 PM slot (would suggest nine out of ten German viewers are watching something else...from zombie thrillers, to soccer, and perhaps game-shows).  

5.  WELT published an interesting piece over the weekend.....suggesting in theory....you could be holding a 400,000 Euro home as an investment vehicle, but because of the ongoing renovation mandate talks with the EU and the German talks on heat pumps, with escalating natural gas costs...the home you currently own might really only be worth 250,000 Euro (losing a third of its real value).

Bogus?  No.  It's a legit discussion on how these mandates will go, and home values are bouncing around.  Today, I would not want to be holding a 150 square meter 1985-built home requiring 60,000 Euro of renovation by 2030....just to hold current value.

6.  This video release of Putin visiting the Donbass region of the Ukraine over the past couple of days?  From the four minutes that I watched....it was a heavily constructed propaganda visit and you get the sense that he wasn't that thrilled or pumped up. 

7.  Officially, we are around four weeks from the final absolute turn-off of nuke power in Germany.  Anti-nuke power folks are pepped-up.  Don't worry....their mission in life just goes to the problem of France remaining nuke power enthusiasts for decades to come.  In theory, when the shortage does come for the Germans....they will pay/buy French nuke power (biting their lip).  

8.  Another bus strike situation for Tuesday in Wiesbaden.....total shutdown for the entire day.  Garbage guys going same way.

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