Sunday, March 29, 2020

Germany and the Coronavirus: 29 March 2020

1.  Dead:  397 (Focus numbers)    Infected:   54,212 (Focus numbers).  Baden-Wurttemberg now leads with deaths (of the 16 states): 118, with NRW in second position (105 deaths). 

2.  At this point (spoken by the Foreign Ministry), roughly 180,000 Germans have been brought into the nation from their vacation spots (instead of being stranded).  Still left?  They think in the 200k range. 

3.  News groups are carrying a Spanish report that all non-essential businesses in Spain must shut down for two weeks.....starting Monday.

4.  ARD (public TV) has brought up this argument/discussion by medical folks.  Some suggest that the death rates aren't as bad a normal yearly flu-death rates.  This argument goes to the discussion that draws serious criticism by other health professionals.  RKI folks even say in 2017/2018....roughly 25,000 Germans died in that period, from the flu. 

5.  Normally, we'd be at the tail-end of the soccer season, and a fair amount of hype would be going on presently.  Today?  Nothing. 

6.  The rent discussion.  The Bundestag passed a Coronavirus law which said that private people and companies could stop paying rent for 3 months.  Well....several big-name companies have stood up and said they intend to use the law (Adidas is one of them).  Rent would normally be due for apartments/houses in the next couple of days and I expect private individuals to also stand up and sign the paperwork.

Legal minds are NOT that sure that the law is valid, and if you sit and think about it.....landlords and banks are the ones in a bad position, with no coverage from the Bundestag.  The Bundestag law didn't exactly go and figure the second step where banks and landlords needed some kind of 'credit' or tax-deal to avoid problems. 

No one is citing numbers and you can't be sure just how big of a deal this is.  I would suggest that more than 50-percent of the working public has a weaker end-of-month paycheck coming and will be challenged to cover their rent.  For some shops (like coffee shops or barber situations), most have been shut down for a minimum of three weeks, and cash flow is virtually zero. 

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