April 2011

ZEW Annual Report 2010 Published - ZEW Successful in Raising Third-Party Funds from Home and Abroad

In the business year 2010, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim improved its results by half a million to 15.6 million euros. In particular, third-party funding strongly increased in 2010. The institute’s annual report provides this information. read more

Service Providers of the Information Society - Firms Employ E-commerce to a Greater Extent in Procurement than in Sales and Marketing

Among the service providers of the information society it has become increasingly common to make use of e-commerce in the procurement of inputs rather than in sales and marketing of ones own products and services. Roughly 64 per cent of all firms in this sector confirm having ordered products and services over the internet in 2010. However, only 29 per cent of all firms sold their products or services over the internet in 2010. This is the result of the March 2011 survey conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim in cooperation with Creditreform Neuss. (See details on the survey at the end of the press release.) read more

"Twisted" Wages Make Hiring Of Young Women and Older Job Hunters Unattractive

Some firms in Germany still prefer hiring young male applicants to young women; and they hardly hire older job hunters either. The main reason for this personnel strategy, which is not very sustainable in view of the demographic change and the feared shortage of skilled workers, are strong seniority wage increases in these firms. These result from the fact that in the first few years in the firm employees are paid below their productivity and in the last few years above their productivity. These "twisted" wages lead to a strong and long loyalty of motivated employees to the firm, but simultaneously make the hiring of young women and older job hunters unattractive. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. read more

ZEW-Erste Group Bank Economic Sentiment Indicator for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)- Economic Expectations for Central and Eastern Europe Recover Slightly

The ZEW-Erste Group Bank Economic Sentiment Indicator for Central and Eastern Europe including Turkey (CEE) has increased by 4.8 points to 18.7 points in April 2011. The economic sentiment indicator for the CEE region and further financial market data have been surveyed monthly since 2007 by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, with the support of Erste Group Bank, Vienna. read more

Upturn For Mergers And Acquisitions in Germany

The German economy is developing well in 2011, causing an upturn of the mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The negative trend observed in Germany during the last two years appears to be overcome. This is the result of a forecast by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim. read more

ZEW-CS Financial Market Test Switzerland - Economic Expectations Brighten up Again

Economic expectations for Switzerland brightened up again in April 2011, with the relevant ZEW-CS-Indicator edging up 22.3 points to the 8.8 threshold, moving into positive territory again for the first time since August 2010. The ZEW-CS Indicator is calculated monthly by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in cooperation with Credit Suisse (CS). The indicator reflects the expectations of the surveyed financial market experts regarding the economic development in Switzerland on a six-month time horizon. read more

Service Providers of the Information Society - Deterioration of the business situation discourages economic sentiment

The overall sentiment in the sector of service providers of the information society has tarnished in the first quarter of the year 2011 in comparison to the quarter immediately prior to it. To a significant extent, this is due to the deterioration of the business situation. Accordingly, the ZEW-IDI drops by 4.4 points in the first quarter of 2011 to a level of 62.4 points. Even though the direct contrast with the previous quarter suggests a lower value, a ZEW-IDI above 50 points indicates an arguably improved economic sentiment with respect to the previous quarter. This is the result of the business survey conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim in a collaborative effort with Creditreform, Neuss, in March 2011 in the sector of service providers of the information society. (Details shall be provided at the end of press release) read more

ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment - Cautious Expectations

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has dropped by 6.5 points in April 2011. The indicator now stands at 7.6 points. This value is below the indicator’s historical average of 26.6 points. read more

ZEW/gif Office Market Forecast - Rents For Offices in Prime Locations Strongly Increase

Prime rents at the five largest German office real estate markets Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Munich will considerably increase by the end of 2012. At the same time, the vacancy rate will hardly be reduced –with the exception of Düsseldorf and Frankfurt. These are the findings of the second survey among real estate market experts, which was conducted by the gif-Arbeitskreis Marktanalysen und Bedarfsprognosen (gif market analysis and demand forecasting working group) in cooperation with the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. read more

Joint Economic Forecast Spring 2011: Continuing Upswing– European Debt Crisis Still Unresolved

In the spring of 2011, the global economy is on the upswing, in particular due to the momentum in emerging economies. Germany is also experiencing a strong economic recovery. The institutes expect that the German Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will increase by 2.8 per cent this year and by 2.0 per cent in 2012. For 2011 and 2012, an unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively, is expected. read more