VIPsight France
Pierre-Henri Leroy: Mr. Macron, there are better things to do!
Finance Minister Emmanuel Macron, asked about the CEO pensions cap, states: “My belief is that any additional pension system is legitimate provided it is based on a contribution of the employee. Some of these pension schemes are not: they are simply a perpetual annuity, a deferred income for the person who has never contributed to the plan. This will not be possible. I prefer a system that better rewards performance and risk to a system that promotes an annuity. Read more on VIPsight.eu!
The German Mittelstand
Economic policy dampens investment joy
Not a flattering testimony to our elected officials: Small- medium size enterprises see the development of business as fraught with great risk under the economic policies presently being pursued by the Federal Government. This is the state of affairs that emerges from the most recent economic survey by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), conducted over more than 25,000 companies with a payroll of up to 500 employees. The result comes as no surprise; with the DIHK in the coalition agreement, the Federal Government has identified some three dozen projects that are expected to undergo financial reassessment, in turn triggering cost revision (aka increases), and more red tape for companies to deal with. Read more on VIPsight.eu!
Buhlmann’s Corner
2015 at long last – opportunity should knock provided conditions stay good!
To tell the truth, it’s terribly boring to follow stock market prices. They go up, they stay the same, but still there are lots of people who get excited, even amazed.
Mathematics calls it a zero-sum game, but that doesn’t mean that the principal stays the same. Last year, one of the newest kids on the block, one Jack Ma, launched his Alibaba.com on the stock market and watched his personal fortune swell by 87-88 thousand million dollars (Bloomberg Billionaires Index) rendolo liquido. It’s anyone’s guess which legitimate enterprise he invested his young shares in, and what blunt instruments he will be empowered to wield as owner. People buy chunks of history, hope and the belief that “it’ll all work out.”. The same as occurred with Rocket Internet of Germany, albeit on a much smaller scale. Indeed I suggest you read the most recent quarterly report and share my amazement. I felt I was reading fluff, clouds of absolute nothing that could justify optimism in any future result. Read more on VIPsight.eu!
Companies
The Federal Finance Ministry sets thousand million Euro fine on nuclear power station operator
The day before Christmas brought a thousand million Euro package to the Christmas stocking of German Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU), in the form of the provisional tax on nuclear-generated energy that the generating station operators must continue paying. The Finance Ministry forecasts that the revenue of some 2.7 thousand million Euros, almost halves the envisaged loss of 6.5 thousand million Euros forecast for 2014. The judgment handed down and now published is the latest in the never-ending legal stand-off between Berlin and those operating nuclear power generating stations. Read more on VIPsight.eu!
People
A recent Airbus communiqué announced that Günter Butschek of EADS left the company at the end of 2014 to pursue other career objectives. During his tenure, Butschek had also headed Airbuses’s German division. The former COO joined the aviation group in 2011 and later became the second most important person in aircraft construction after Frenchman Fabrice Brégier. The choice of 62year-old Briton Tom Williams to succeed Butschek as COO, is probable indication that his appointment is not envisaged as long-term. Similarly to 64-year-old John Leahy, Williams belongs to the old guard of Airbus top management. Klaus Richter, head of group purchases, has also joined the Executive Committee, and is now the Airbus representative in Germany. Read more on VIPsight.eu!