Business advice

German government overreacted on COVID-19 Christian Drosten, director of Berlin's Institute of Virology at the Charité Hospital, spoke to The Guardian on Sunday, days after the country began lifting some lockdown restrictions. Germany's lockdown started to lift on April 20, with the opening of smaller businesses like car dealerships, bike shops, and book stores. The country plans to start reopening schools on May 4. Drosten said he felt like the government was being pressured to reopen, and that he feared that a blasé attitude toward the relatively tame outbreak in Germany could lead to a new burst of infections.  The basic reproduction number, also known as R0, represents the average number of people a single patient is expected to infect and is a key figure to measuring countries' outbreak. You can read Business Insider's explainer to it here. More: https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-coronavirus-restrictions-so-effective-people-think-overreaction...

Italy’s small stores reopen after virus lockdown Italy’s legion of booksellers, stationers and artisan businesses have started to re-open their doors after a bruising period of lockdown in the country. There is a sense of both trepidation, and hope, that business can get back to normal. Nationwide restrictions on public life and businesses have been tough on many small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Italy, many of which are family-owned and passed down the generations, often weathering turbulent periods in the economy. After Covid-19, business owners know it could take a long time for their businesses, and shopping habits, to get back to normal. Aside from their importance as family enterprises, Italy’s SMEs are seen by many as the economic backbone of the country.  Italian SMEs generate 66.9% of the overall value added in the Italian “non-financial business economy,” exceeding the EU average of 56.4%, according to EU data from last year. The share of employm...

New norms in Europe In Paris, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced plans to reopen stores starting on May 11. Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez said he aims to remove most restrictions on daily life and return to a “new normality” over the next eight weeks. Schools in Spain, though, will remain closed until September. Europe took another step toward life after lockdown as France, Spain and Greece unveiled details of how they plan to emerge from the coronavirus and cautiously restart economies crippled by the pandemic. A clearer picture is now emerging of how Europe aims to ease its way back toward some semblance of normality, though governments have stressed that there’s still a long way to go before coronavirus is beaten. With the absence of a vaccine, all countries are trying to strike a delicate balance between reviving businesses and household finances while averting a potentially devastating second wave of infections. Philippe said French restaurants and cafes m...

ec.europa.eu: What is in today's banking package? Today we are clarifying how the current rules can be applied more flexibly and in a coherent manner across the EU, while maintaining a prudent approach so as to preserve financial stability. It provides a consistent and uniform interpretation of the flexibility in these rules, so that banks and supervisors are on the same footing across the EU. Today's package includes an Interpretative Communication on the EU's accounting and prudential frameworks (“Supporting businesses and households amid COVID-19”), as well as targeted “quick fix” amendments to EU banking rules (the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR)). What does the Interpretative Communication aim to do? In its Communication of 13 March 2020 on a coordinated economic response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Commission invited prudential and accounting authorities to further specify how to make best use of the flexibility provided for in the existing reg...

Business life in Europe wakes up The organisers of Sleep & Eat have announced the first details of this November’s show in Olympia London, designed to support hospitality businesses across the spectrum and lift the trammelled spirits of the hospitality community.  New for this year, there will be an array of meeting and networking platforms designed to generate conversations and connections between all members of the hospitality community, which will include series of one-to-one meetings organised in advance through the show’s new portal. Initiatives such as these will be combined with a unique collection of experiential Sets, a Conference bringing industry leaders together, this year to debate the shape of hospitality after COVID-19, and an international Exhibition.  The organisers have also revealed that, for the first time, the event will be delivered in collaboration with major international Hotel Brand Partners, Accor, IHG and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. ...

Which companies can’t get support from EU? Tax-dodging corporations with outposts in offshore havens risk being left high and dry when European nations hand out vast bailouts to companies devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic. A growing number of countries said they may exclude companies based in the Cayman Islands, Panama, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other states on a European Union blacklist of “non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax.” Upholding its Nordic reputation for fair play, Denmark has taken the lead, prompting politicians across the 27-nation EU to call for similar action as public impatience grows over rescues going to tax-dodging companies. “You cannot ask the Danish society for help one day only to turn your back on the community the next and send your money to a country on the EU’s list of tax havens,” the Nordic nation’s Business Minister Simon Kollerup said in an email. “It is simply not fair.” From manufacturing to banking, the use of havens has become a...

European business leaders expect revenue hit Across the full dataset, 76% of business leaders said that the Covid-19 crisis is having a negative impact on their company to date, of which 33% forecast a ‘very negative’ impact. 85% expect the impact to be negative over the next 6 months, with 29% preparing for a ‘very negative’ downturn.  The Covid-19 crisis is bringing about unprecedented disruption to the financial coffers of European businesses, according to a new Eden McCallum survey held among over 300 business leaders based in Europe.  As part of mitigation and response planning, companies are taking a range of measures to curb costs and maintain operations as well as services to clients. Reducing non-people costs is the top action taken, followed by deferring or reducing capital expenditures, in the most cases related to non-strategic spending. Over half of the respondents have indicated that they are making use of government employment support. Other measu...

Italy plans to reopen Italy, the first Western nation to shut down, is now in the vanguard of moves to cautiously reopen its economy. From May 4, shops like Ferraro’s can provide takeaways, and they will fully restart from June 1. But the aid deployment figures so far are worrying for business leaders and politicians alike. The government says debt guarantees made available by the state can unlock up to €740 billion ($803 billion) in funding for businesses which have been crippled by a seven-week lockdown. So far just €3.1 billion in funds have been released, the Treasury said at the weekend. Of that, only €115 million are in the form of loans worth up to €25,000 fully secured by the state, which do not require banks to perform credit analyses on borrowers. The financial stakes are higher for Italy than many others in Europe because its economy was faltering even before COVID-19, and the pandemic hit hardest in the northern industrial heartlands that generate a third of i...

Casper lays off 78 corporate employees, winds down Europe business The embattled mattress startup is the latest brand to announce layoffs during the COVID-19 crisis, releasing a third of its HQ staff and closing its Europe business. Casper is the latest direct-to-consumer startup to announce significant layoffs in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Today, the six-year-old brand laid off 78 employees from the corporate team, which makes up 21% of its total corporate workforce. The company is also winding down its European operations and its 31-person headquarters in Germany, according to a person familiar with the matter. The other employees who were laid off came from various departments, including marketing and product development. According to a statement from the company, this will result in “more than $10 million in annualized savings, and are part of the company’s overall focus on achieving profitability.” Greg Macfarlane, Casper’s CFO and COO, will depart the company in Ma...

Businesslive: Power returns to Germany and Italy In France and Spain, power use was steady in the past week, while Britain suffered a further slump. Those findings from grid operators shed light on how lockdowns to contain the Covid-19 crisis are affecting Europe’s economy. London — Italy and Germany showed signs that they’re beginning to consume more electricity, suggesting economic activity may be starting to increase in some corners of Europe hardest hit by the coronavirus. “Countries will most likely return to previous habits around energy use as policymakers strive to return economies to normality following the severe health and economic shock,” according to DBRS Ratings. European power and natural gas prices could take years to recover, according to Aurora Energy Research. The consultant estimates it could take four years for power prices and as long as eight years for natural gas to recover in a scenario in which lockdowns last into the fourth quarter. Full-ye...

We need a strong Europe - COVID-19 crisis 23 CEOs and Presidents of major EU companies and industry federations call on the EU to spur solidarity across the bloc. This cross-industry statement comes as the EU Heads of State and Government prepare for a video conference on 23 April 2020 that will focus on recovery post-COVID-19. Dear EU leaders, In order to overcome the extraordinary challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brings, the European Union must show that it is more than the sum of its members. Pushed by the urgency at hand, Member States have rightfully taken the lead in recent weeks, but this unfortunately leads us to a scattered landscape of measures. Recovering from the crisis, only European solutions can work, putting the Single Market as the central instrument. More than ever we need a strong Europe, where its governments, businesses and citizens show their solidarity. Examples of solidarity can be seen everywhere across our continent: from volunteers who sew mas...

Patrick ten Brink: “Returning our food systems to business as usual would be a historic mistake” As Covid-19 tightens its grip around the world, there is no doubt saving lives must remain the priority of the immediate response. It is our collective responsibility to do everything we can to stop the virus spreading further and to help all those affected. Yet a fierce struggle is going on in parallel. And, as enormous decisions are taken, the ramifications for society could be huge. Loss and degradation Research suggests that the emergence of new human diseases is closely linked to loss and degradation of ecosystems and habitats, which in turn is driven by climate change, resource extraction, urban and agricultural expansion and pollution—all problems which are meant to be addressed through the European Green Deal. Inger Andersen, director of the United Nations Environment Programme, recently drew similar conclusions. Food systems One topic in particular lies at the h...

Europe risks losing both Italy and the euro Europe faces the most poisonous North-South showdown since the creation of monetary union. The raw emotions of Covid-19 have brought matters to a head. “Social cohesion between European countries is being stretched to the point where the resiliency of the EU and the euro can no longer be taken for granted. The risk is greater now than at any previous time,” says Arnaud Marès from Citigroup. These are strong words from a crisis veteran who once served as Mario Draghi’s right-hand man at the European Central Bank. He has a warning for EU leaders as they meet by videolink to thrash out a pandemic rescue response worthy of the name.  Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/04/22/europe-faces-moment-truth-one-mistake-risks-losing-italy-euro/

The "Data Center Market in Western Europe - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. COVID-19 is going to affect the data center market in Western Europe. A detailed analysis is included in the report. The data center market in Western Europe by investment is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 1% during the period 2019-2025. The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) is expected to boost the data center market in Western Europe. As cloud-based services in Western Europe include hosting database, office software, financial and accounting, managing customer relationships and computer services, the demand for colocation, managed, and cloud-connectivity services will gain momentum. Several SMEs are looking to adopt cloud services such as PaaS and SaaS, and it is expected that more than 90% of SMEs in Western Europe will operate businesses through the cloud by 2024. The demand f...

EU plans map out of the crisis In countries that have eased restrictions, shoppers appear to be staying away from reopened businesses and workers fear their health could be put at risk. The European Union echoed such concerns even as it published a 16-page road map plotting a united course out of the crisis for its 27 member countries. The EU warned that "any level of gradual relaxation of the confinement will unavoidably lead to a corresponding increase in new cases". The World Health Organization's special envoy for COVID-19 David Nabarro urged that any recriminations about the organisation be left until after the virus has been defeated. Mr Trump had on Tuesday halted funding to the WHO pending a review into how it handled the outbreak. People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others and gatherings are limited to two people unless you are with your family or household. Source: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/shoppers-stay-home-as...

LA times: For our coronavirus future, we look to Europe, which is warily easing some restrictions Spain began easing parts of its coronavirus lockdown Monday, and other Western European countries such as Italy and Austria appeared poised to follow suit with fewer restrictions on public activities. But will the easing of constraints, however limited, prove to be a beacon of hope or a cautionary tale? To onlookers in the United States, where many people are staying at home to help curb the spread of the virus, events in hard-hit European nations have been like dispatches from the future. Before COVID-19 fully established itself in hot spots such as New York, it devastated vulnerable Spanish nursing homes, filled the obituary pages of Italian provincial newspapers, and unnerved French villagers with a wave of urban refugees. Now, the death rate across much of Western Europe apparently is beginning to level off. With President Trump musing about at least a partial reopening ...

Ben Sills & Bloomberg: “How European countries plan to reopen their economies from the coronavirus lockdown” European leaders are starting to sketch out their strategy for putting the economy back to work once the coronavirus has been brought under control. Austria and Denmark are beginning to open up some schools and shops this week and President Emmanuel Macron on Monday night told the French that he wants to begin phasing out restrictions from May 11. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to discuss her plans with German state premiers on Wednesday while the European Commission has drafted a plan to coordinate the moves. Governments are trying to balance the desperate need to halt the damage to the economy against the risk of a resurgence of the pandemic. The number of new cases in Europe has stabilized in recent days though more than 50,000 people have died on the continent and the fatalities continue to climb. Spain reported the lowest number of new cases since March...

wired.co.uk: With fear and trepidation, Europe leaves coronavirus lockdown European countries easing lockdown restrictions are taking wildly different approaches. Can they all be right? That how small business survives today For the past month, hairdresser Simone Jungwirth has been forced to swap running a busy salon in Vienna with a daily routine that orbits around cooking, gardening and drawing, as a full-time mum. When the coronavirus started spreading in Europe, the Austrian government imposed one of the continent’s first strict lockdowns. That decision has been credited with keeping the death toll in the low hundreds compared to neighbouring Italy, where more than 20,000 people have so far lost their lives. Like lockdowns everywhere, school and business closures upended lives across the country. First, Jungwirth had to close her salon and cancel her clients’ appointments. Next, her two-year-old daughter was sent home from kindergarten without a fixed date to return...

Where, what and when? EU commission lockdown advice by euobserver The EU Commission rolled out recommendations to member states on Wednesday (15 April) on how to manage easing their lockdown measures while restarting the economy. Countries will decide on the measures themselves, but the EU executive urged coordination to better control the spread of the virus. Here is an overview of the recommendations, which describes Europe living with the virus for a year with half-full schools and stores, mobile tracing apps, continued social distancing and closed borders. Preconditions The commission set out three conditions on when lockdown measures could be eased in member states. One is that spread of the disease has significantly decreased and stabilised for a sustained period of time. Second, is that the there is sufficient health system capacity for more than only Covid-19 patients. Large-scale testing should also be a pre-requisite to easing measures, meaning testing in...