Day: October 24, 2022

The consequences of the energy crisis for German businesses could be severe as 25% of companies may respond to rising energy costs by cutting staff, while 90% are likely to respond by raising prices, with some already implementing such decisions.

The findings of a survey by the Foundation for Family Businesses, carried out by the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research in September, were based on a total of 1,060 companies, the majority of them family businesses.

In the previous survey conducted by the foundation in April, only 14% of companies were planning layoffs.

According to the new survey, 13% of companies now also expect to halt production. In April, the figure was still 6%.

Production relocations abroad are currently being tackled by 9% of companies, up from 6%.

According to the study, the companies are dissatisfied with the crisis management of politics, calling for subsidies for private investment in energy efficiency or renewable energies.

Meanwhile, targeted aid for companies or industries is also frequently mentioned in the survey.

Family businesses are the most widespread type of company in Germany. More than 90% of all companies are family-owned, accounting for 58% of all jobs — a stabilizing factor for the employment market in times of economic downturn.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Israel and Lebanon will sign a US-brokered agreement on their maritime border demarcation on Thursday, US mediator Amos Hochstein.

“We’re going to have a deal,” Hochstein told CNN’s “Face the Nation” program. “We’re going to sign it hopefully this Thursday.”

According to Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, the signing ceremony is set to take place in the Lebanese town of Naqoura, with delegations from Israel and Lebanon signing the deal in separate rooms.

Once the agreement is inked, the two countries will send letters to the United Nations laying out the terms of the deal.

On Sunday, Israel’s High Court rejected petitions seeking annulment of the maritime deal with Lebanon, paving the way for the agreement to be approved.

There was no Lebanese confirmation of signing the deal on Thursday.

Lebanon and Israel have been locked in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square kilometers (332 square miles) rich in gas and oil, according to maps sent by both countries to the UN in 2011.

Negotiations over the territory in the Mediterranean Sea, which contain part of the Karish gas field and Qana, a prospective gas field, have been ongoing since 2020.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The commodity sell-off continued last week due to global recession fears.

While commodity prices are following a downward trend, bond yields are rising amid concerns over high inflation, recession, and high interest rates.

Political uncertainties in Europe on top of existing risks also lowered the risk appetite in global markets.

Investors’ expectations regarding the “hawkish” monetary stance of central banks are also getting stronger.

Market estimates that the European Central Bank will hike rates by 75 basis points on Thursday, while the Bank of England (BoE) is projected to raise policy rate by 100 basis points next month.

According to the data released last week, Britain’s annual consumer inflation rate rose to 10.1% in September, returning to July’s 40-year high.

In its latest meeting, the BoE raised its base rate by 50 basis points to 2.25% from 1.75% – the seventh consecutive hike by the central bank.

China’s COVID zero policy also is a source of pressure on the commodity market as investors expect a fall in deliveries due to its lockdown measures.

Last week, China’s move to delay the release of key economic data due to the Communist Party Congress also added to investor uncertainty.

Precious metals on rise

Despite a downward trend in the commodity market, prices of precious metals were on the rise.

Gold gained 0.9%, silver 6.2%, platinum 3.8% and palladium 1.5% last week.

In the over-the-counter market, the price of copper decreased 1.9%, aluminum 4.4%, lead 7.4%, nickel 0.8% and zinc 1.4%.

Energy prices followed a mixed course last week.

The price of Brent oil edged up 1%, while natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange plummeted 23.2%.

Wheat trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange slipped 1.4%, corn 0.9% and rice 2.2%, while soybeans gained 1.3%.

The price of cotton, which saw its lowest level since December 2020 at $0.7580, declined by 4.5% last week, and coffee, which saw its lowest level since September 2021 at $1.8620, dropped by 3.9%.

The decline in coffee exports due to drought in Uganda was also one of the factors that negatively affected coffee prices.

The price of sugar decreased by 2.5% and cocoa by 3.2% last week.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Euro area manufacturing activity continued contracting for the fourth consecutive month, with Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) hitting to a 29-month low in October, according to the preliminary flash reading on Monday.

Manufacturing PMI in the single currency zone fell to 46.6 in October from 48.4 in September, a report by US-based financial services company S&P Global showed.

The figure was below market forecast of 47.8 for the month.

Amid high energy prices, the production decreased to a 29-month low in October as Flash Eurozone Manufacturing Output Index hit 44.2.

“While the rising cost of living remains the predominant cause of the economic slowdown, the region’s energy crisis remains a major concern and a drag on activity, especially in energy intensive sectors,” said Chris Williamson, the chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Euro area economic activity also continued to worsen in October as S&P Global Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index fell from 48.1 in September to 47.1 in October, a nearly two-year low.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish security forces “neutralized” nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria, authorities said on Monday.

Three of the terrorists were targeted in airstrikes in Iraq’s Gara region, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Ankara has been carrying out several anti-terror offensives in northern Iraq to root out terrorists who hide in these areas and plot cross-border attacks on Türkiye.

Meanwhile, six other PKK terrorists, who were planning a plot against Turkish soldiers, were also targeted in zones of Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Peace Spring, the ministry said in another statement.

“We are continuing to punish terrorists, whose one and only aim is to shed blood in the region,” the statement underscored.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Egypt plans to develop a new indicator for its currency to be linked to a basket of gold and other currencies besides the US dollar, the new central bank governor said.

“Since Egypt is a non-oil exporter, there was no need to peg its local currency to the US dollar,” Hassan Abdalla, the governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), said at a major economic conference in Cairo on Sunday.

He added that the CBE “is aiming to change this concept.”

Abdalla said the CBE has finalized the forward contracts for the Egyptian pound.

“The CBE is working on the hedge contracts for the local currencies as a tool to navigate the impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict which affected the hard currency in the Egyptian market,” he added.

The Egyptian economy has been hard-hit by the consequences of the Ukraine war, which erupted in February.

The Egyptian pound plunged to a record low against the dollar in October, trading at 19.72 for selling and 19.62 for buying according to the official exchange rate on Sunday.

Egypt is seeking a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its economy.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi in Ankara contributed to this report

Source: Anadolu Agency