Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: coronavirus

  • 65% of Romanian companies didn’t apply measures to reduce employee costs

    65% of Romanian companies didn’t apply measures to reduce employee costs

    Two thirds (65%) of the responding companies didn’t have to apply measures to reduce employee costs in the two months of the state of emergency, according to the HR Barometer conducted by PwC Romania in May.

    Cost-cutting companies have adopted a mix of measures applied differently depending on employees’ positions, in general targeting operational staff in areas most affected by the state of emergency.

    Thus, 11% have applied furloughs with help from the state budget, but without making up the difference, while 15% have used furloughs and covered the salary gap, 17% have reduced working time, with the agreement of the parties or granted unpaid leave, and 4% have laid off employees.

    In terms of wages, the survey shows that half of the respondents applied the salary increases for 2020 before the state of emergency was declared. The average increase was 5.77%, in line with forecasts announced in 2019.

    Almost 30% said they won’t increase salaries this year and 15% have changed their salary increase policy to only to critical positions. Benefit packages remained the same for 80% of respondents.

    The majority (65%) do not intend to change the system of variable payments.

    Back to work

    Less than a quarter of the companies surveyed (22%) returned to work on 18 May, with almost half not having decided on a return date yet.

    In this context, 80% intend to combine work from home with office work, even after the end of the state of emergency (15 May), with a majority taking employee opinions into account.

    Regarding HR activities, 37% of respondents said that they won’t change their recruitment and onboarding policies, and 30% stated their intention to postpone them until the state of emergency is lifted.

    Training and development programmes have been postponed by 33% of the respondents, with the same percentage having changed processes and tools, especially as part of digitalisation programmes.

  • Pandemic pushes US personal spending to record decline since 1959

    Pandemic pushes US personal spending to record decline since 1959

    Research by Finbold.com shows that the United States’ personal spending has significantly dropped by 7.5 percent monthly.

    Data obtained indicate that between March and February this year, the US personal spending registered its worst figure since 1959.

    Personal spending to improve in mid-2021

    From the data, personal spending in the US increased by 0.2 percent in February compared to January this year. The decline has been attributed to the Coronavirus pandemic that peaked between March and April. According to our research report:

    This massive drop represents the largest decline in personal spending on record, which means since 1959. There was no crisis during the last 60 years that affected in such a negative way the personal spending of U.S. families.

    The report further indicates that personal spending in the US is projected to drop by 2 percent by the end of this quarter. Further projections indicate that personal spending in the U.S. could stand at 0.50 in the next 12 months. By mid-2021 the situation will start improving with personal spending moving towards 0.70 percent.

    The U.S. Personal spending is measured by the Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, which takes into account how much of the income earned is spent by U.S. families.

    Global economies have been impacted by the Coronavirus and the United States has not been spared either. Several states have imposed lockdowns to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.

  • Remote employees miss social interaction and the instant share of ideas

    Remote employees miss social interaction and the instant share of ideas

    Remote work is challenging for most Romanians who have worked from home in the current epidemiological context. Only 13% of them say they have a dedicated workspace at home, half compared to employees in Central and Eastern European (CEE), according to a study conducted by Colliers International among countries in the region, including Romania.

    In this context, most feel isolated and miss meetings with colleagues, even if work from home has meant a better work-life balance for some.

    In absence of an office or a dedicated workspace at home, 45% of Romanians say that the living room is the main area where they carry out their work activities, as is the case for half of respondents from Central and Eastern Europe. As a result, 40% of respondents say that they have difficulties working remote and feel that sometimes they have low concentration because they carry out professional activities in the same space where their children carry out school or fun activities.

    From home, half of the Romanian respondents to the Colliers International study admit that they feel isolated from their colleagues and only 27% still feel connected to the team. In contrast, in Central and Eastern European countries the situation is exactly the opposite – 62% of respondents say they are equally connected to the team even when working remote and only 29% feel isolated.

    Spontaneous meetings with colleagues are what lack most to employees working remote from the region (68%). In Romania, however, 75% of respondents lack especially the physical interaction with colleagues during a working day.

    For 67%, the lack of clear separation between their professional and personal life is most challenging and only 42% indicate spontaneous meetings with colleagues among the aspects they lack the most when working from home.

    The work-life balance has improved

    Even so, Romanians continued to work efficiently. Most respondents (CEE – 51%, Romania – 54%) consider that they remained equally productive during the remote working period, and for 21% of the respondents from CEE and 23% of those from Romania productivity even increased. At the same time, 44% of Romanian respondents say their work-life balances improved since their home became their workplace, a higher percentage than that recorded in Central and Eastern European countries.

    Most companies that are now focusing on remote work have already implemented the “work from home” concept in the pre-pandemic period. Specifically, both in Central and Eastern Europe and in Romania, over 60% of respondents were occasionally working from home before the current context, while 31% of those interviewed in Romania and 23% in countries in the region say they didn’t work at all remotely before.

    The study was conducted in March-April in 25 countries where Collies International operates, by collecting data online among nearly 4,400 respondents, including about a quarter of Central and Eastern European countries.

  • Top 10 of the most popular online experiences in quarantine in Italy

    Top 10 of the most popular online experiences in quarantine in Italy

    According to a Mastercard research, more than half of buyers in Italy said they made a lot of online purchases (59%) related to basic necessities (whose online purchase increases by 44%), but also to entertain themselves (36%) with virtual experiences ranging from watching movies and TV series to cooking lessons, through virtual fitness sessions. 

    The same trend is recorded throughout Europe, where the figure stands at 57%.

    Online experiences are increasingly popular among Italians (36%) and Europeans (30%), who are increasingly allocating budgets to digital entertainment. 

    Among Italians, 88% keep in touch regularly, thanks to video-call tools, with their loved ones and work colleagues (against 75% in Europe), 71% are subscribers to a streaming service online, while 1 Italian out of 2 participates in cooking lessons or reads online recipes to test their cooking skills (in line with European data, which are respectively 58% and 50%).

    42% of Italians say they do not behave differently from what would happen offline

    Overall, Mastercard’s research has revealed how Italian and European online shopping habits tend to reflect the behaviors adopted in real life. 

    In fact, 42% of Italians (against 51% of Europeans) say they do not behave differently from what would happen offline, underlining how much the price continues to be the most important discriminate when shopping (71% the Italian figure). 

    Those who are always looking for the best opportunity continue to spend as much time online comparing sites and opinions (86% in Italy against 81% in Europe), thus keeping their habits unchanged.

    Top 10 of the most popular experiences in quarantine times (Italy vs Europe)

    1. 88% regularly make video calls with family, friends and work colleagues (compared to 75% in Europe);
    2. 71% have an online subscription like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video (compared to 58% in Europe);
    3. 50% take part in cooking lessons or read recipes online (against 30% in Europe);
    4. 38% play online video games (against 31% in Europe);
    5. 34% participate in online fitness classes (against 26% in Europe);
    6. 34% watch comedies on the web (against 36% in Europe);
    7. 30% visiting museums or places of interest online (against 24% in Europe);
    8. 29% attend online music concerts (compared to 32% in Europe);
    9. 28% are learning to draw;
    10. 26% take quizzes with friends online (compared to 20% in Europe).

    The top 10 of the most popular products in quarantine times

    1. Books (42% in Italy vs 32% of the European figure);
    2. Kitchen utensils (25% in Italy vs 22% of the European figure);
    3. Board games (21% in Italy vs 18% of the European figure);
    4. Puzzle (19% in Italy vs 17% of the European figure);
    5. Hair clipper (18% in Italy vs 15% of the European figure);
    6. Hair dyes (18% in Italy vs 19% of the European figure);
    7. Fitness equipment (17% in Italy vs 13% of the European figure);
    8. Computers and accessories (15% in Italy vs 13% of the European figure);
    9. Arts and DIY (14% in Italy vs 12% of the European figure);
    10. Yoga equipment (14% in Italy vs 13% of the European figure).
  • Short-time working funds increased to €12 billion in Austria

    Short-time working funds increased to €12 billion in Austria

    Austrian Finance Minister Blümel increased funds for short-time working to €12 billion. Financial police will carry out priority checks to detect fraudulent use of funds.

    ”With coronavirus short-time working, we have created a model that is unique in Europe to keep unemployment as low as possible at a difficult time. Especially in the current phase, it is important to be able to resume operations with well-trained, long-standing employees. Short-time working is a sensible measure to get through the crisis. We are therefore increasing funds for short-time working, which have already amounted to € 10 billion, to a total of € 12 billion. Especially at the present moment, it makes sense to implement a safety buffer to protect jobs”, said Finance Minister Gernot Blümel in a press conference.

    The decline in the number of applications for short-time working shows that companies are now seeing less need for it, which is an important sign that the economy is rapidly recovering.

    Nevertheless, funds are being increased, since with the current volume of applications, any new applications could not otherwise be processed.

    Also, almost 5,000 control notifications have been sent to the AMS and 846 to the Construction Workers’ Annual Leave and Severance Pay Fund.

  • Apeiron Biologics, new financing round for the COVID-19 drug APN01

    Apeiron Biologics, new financing round for the COVID-19 drug APN01

    Apeiron Biologics AG will complete a capital increase to finance the further development of APN01 for the treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients as well as the development of immuno-oncology projects.

    The Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) will lead the financing round and secures the private placement as an anchor investor, investment commitments from existing shareholders and new institutional and private international investors have been provided.

    In addition, the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the Vienna Business Agency (WAW), the Austrian promotional bank (AWS) and the Erste Bank have committed grant funding and guarantees.

    APN01 is one of the most advanced drug candidates for the treatment of COVID-19 and one of the few therapy approaches specifically targeting the coronavirus, because it imitates the receptor ACE2 and thus offers a unique dual approach to treatment.

    Experts believe that accelerated market approval could be completed if the study shows positive results.

  • Covid-19 impacted rental market in Czechia. Rent fell by 20-30 percent

    Covid-19 impacted rental market in Czechia. Rent fell by 20-30 percent

    • Thousands of flats in the Czech Republic remained empty. Short-term housing fell to zero overnight. 
    • The Czech rental market was flooded with apartments for long and medium-term rent. 
    • Rent in Prague and Brno fell by 20-30 percent.

    Michal Rambousek, the founder of www.tvujspravce.cz, which takes care for the owners of their rental apartments, comments on the situation: “Expats left the country because of the coronavirus crisis, especially Ukrainians, Slovaks, Poles and other foreigners who came here for work. Foreign students and especially tourists left, bringing over 5.000 vacant flats for rent to the real estate market.”

    The coronavirus also waved rental prices. Some tenants have arranged a temporary discount on rent, others have left the apartments for various reasons. 

    How the rental market in Czechia was affected by coronavirus

    Due to the outflow of tourists and expats, a large number of apartments offering lower rents appeared on the market. The market price of rent in Prague and Brno also fell by 20-30 percent. 

    The average rental price for an apartment of 60 m2 in a better location in Prague is around CZK 20,000.

    The largest decline in rents was recorded in Prague 1 and 2. It was here that most flats were vacated. These were mainly apartments for short-term rent. 

    From the beginning of March to May 11, 5.458 vacant apartments for rent appeared on various internet servers in Prague alone (data do not include offers for rent from all servers, from Facebook groups, from booking or from Airbnb).

    Some owners of these apartments are now looking for long-term tenants, trying to cover the losses and ensure a regular income from long-term lease.

  • Over 9 million litres of Anti-COVID hand disinfectant produce in Czechia

    Over 9 million litres of Anti-COVID hand disinfectant produce in Czechia

    Czech companies were able to temporarily produce disinfectants produced according to a formula from the World Health Organisation (WHO), show Business and Investment Development Agency in Czech Republic.

    The temporary production of hand disinfectant called Anti-COVID. Production ended on 30 April 2020.

    The produced Anti-COVID disinfectant can be sold until 15 August 2020.

    Based on a government resolution and in cooperation with other ministries, the Ministry of Industry and Trade responded to the shortage of disinfectant agents on the market, when it was necessary to rapidly ensure the necessary production and supply.

    Thirty-three Czech companies thus produced more than nine million litres of Anti-COVID hand disinfectant in approximately six weeks on the basis of an extraordinary permit from the Ministry of Health and a decision of the Ministry of Agriculture on permitting special denaturation of alcohol.

    This involved a controlled regimen so that production and distribution would be rapid and safe and the disinfectant would be effective.

  • World’s largest private airport operator reported a 98.3% decline in passenger traffic

    World’s largest private airport operator reported a 98.3% decline in passenger traffic

    Corporacion America Airports, the largest private sector airport operator in the world by number of airports, reported a 98.3% decline year-over-year passenger traffic in April 2020.

    Total passenger traffic in April 2020 dropped 98.3% YoY, primarily reflecting continued travel restrictions imposed by governments, aiming to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    International traffic declined by 98.7% YoY, while domestic traffic dropped 98.2% YoY.

    In Argentina, total passenger traffic decreased 99.3% YoY, as a result of prolonged measures implemented mid-March by the Government restricting both international and domestic flights to contain the breakout.

    International passenger traffic declined 98.5% with minimum levels due to repatriation flights, while domestic passenger traffic dropped 99.7% YoY.

    In Brazil, total passenger traffic dropped 96.2% YoY, driven by decreases of 95.5% in domestic passenger traffic and 99.4% in international traffic. Passenger traffic declined 98.5% YoY in Uruguay, 97.5% in Armenia and 98.6% in Ecuador.

    In Italy, passenger traffic declined 99.9%

    In Italy, passenger traffic declined 99.9% YoY, with traffic at Florence airport down 100% YoY due to the temporary halt of operations from March 14 to May 4, 2020 as per government regulations, while passenger traffic at Pisa Airport was down 99.9% YoY.

    Cargo volume decreased 56.2% on April 2020, mainly due to declines of 54.2% in Argentina, 87.7% in Brazil, 76.8% in Ecuador and 70.0% in Armenia; partially offset by a 60.6% increase in Uruguay, as a result of extraordinarily high seed exports.

    Aircraft movements declined 90.2% YoY in April 2020, driven by decreases across all segments due to travel restrictions: 92.1% in Argentina, 85.5% in Brazil, 96.8% in Italy, 87.7% in Ecuador, 84.9% in Uruguay, 87.0% in Armenia and 83.0% in Peru.

    Corporacion America Airports operates 52 airports in 7 countries across Latin America and Europe (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Armenia and Italy)

  • 50% of German companies expect major revenue drop in 2020

    50% of German companies expect major revenue drop in 2020

    According to data gathered by AksjeBloggen, nearly half of the German companies expect major revenue drop in 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic.

    More than 25% of them expect revenue declined by more than 50%.

    Coronavirus outbreak affected 92% of the German economy

    The DIHK survey conducted in March 2020 among 15,000 German companies showed that 23% of respondents expect profits drop between 10% and 25% due to coronavirus outbreak.

    Another 26% of businesses stated they would probably experience a revenue decrease between 25% and 50%. Only 3% of respondents believed the coronavirus is not going to affect their revenue at all. Statistics showed 2% of German companies expected their income to increase in 2020.

    The survey also revealed the coronavirus outbreak affected almost 100% of German businesses in the hospitality and travel industry. More than 90% of companies in the wholesale, transport and storage, retail and business-related services also significantly noticed the impact of the pandemic.

    Manufacturing, health management, and construction industry follow with 88% and 86% of troubled companies, respectively. Statistics show that 92.4% of the entire German economy is affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

    Two-thirds of German companies require emergency Government grants

    The coronavirus also influenced how German companies evaluate their future. According to the DIHK survey, 63% of them expected less demand for their products and services in the following weeks.

    Cancellation of orders ranked as the second-leading problem with a 48% share among respondents. The standstill of business activity, liquidity shortfalls, and reduced investments followed with 43%, 41%, and 38% share.

    The survey also revealed almost 70% of German firms found emergency government grants and reduced hours compensation as the most relevant support measures during the coronavirus outbreak. Another 60% of them require a cut of advance payments.

    Government and bank loans follow with 31% and 16% share of companies who preferer this type of support measures.

  • Ryanair, to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from July 1st

    Ryanair, to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from July 1st

    Ryanair announced plans to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from Wed 1 July 2020, subject to Government restrictions on intra-EU flights being lifted, and effective public health measures being put in place at airports.

    Ryanair will operate a daily flight schedule of almost 1.000 flights, restoring 90% of its pre-Covid-19 route network.

    Since the Covid-19 flight restrictions in mid-March, Ryanair has been operating a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights between Ireland, the UK and Europe.

    From July, Ryanair will restart flying from most of its 80 bases across Europe. There will be fewer daily/weekly frequencies on trunk routes, as Ryanair works to restore some services on the widest number of routes, rather than operating high frequency services on a small number.

    Ryanair, new health measures

    Ryanair released a return to flying video, encouraging passengers to observe effective health measures to limit the Covid-19 virus.

    These include fewer checked bags, check in online, downloading boarding pass to the passenger smart phone, as well as undergoing temperature checks at airport entry and wearing face masks/coverings at all times in the terminal and on board aircraft.

    All Ryanair aircraft are fitted with HEPA air filters (similar to those used in critical hospital wards) and all aircraft interior surfaces are disinfected every night with chemicals, which are effective for over 24 hours.

    While temperature checks and face masks/coverings are the cornerstone of this healthy return to service, social distancing at airports and onboard aircraft will be encouraged where it is possible.

    On board its aircraft, Ryanair cabin crew will wear face masks/coverings and a limited inflight service will be offered of pre-packaged snacks and drinks, but no cash sales. All onboard transactions will be cashless. Queuing for toilets will also be prohibited on board although toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request. Ryanair encourages passengers to regularly hand wash and use hand sanitizers in airport terminals.

    As a temporary further public health measure, while EU States emerge from their respective Covid-19 lockdowns, Ryanair will require all passengers flying in July & Aug to fill in details (at the point of check in) of how long their planned visit will be, and also their address while visiting another EU country, and this contact information will be provided to EU Governments to help them to monitor any isolation regulations they require of visitors on intra-EU flights.

  • Fixed cost subsidies will be available this year for Austrian businesses

    Fixed cost subsidies will be available this year for Austrian businesses

    Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Blümel said in a press conference that ”Fixed cost subsidies will be available this year. Applications possible from 20th May”.

    “We have already achieved a great deal with the €38 bn protective package we have extended over the Austrian economy. Much remains to be done, but a total of around €19 bn in funding has been committed so far. There is a €15 bn corona relief fund, which is processed via COFAG and includes two relief mechanisms. On the one hand, there are loans, which are guaranteed by the state and granted through the banks”, said Finance Minister Gernot Blümel.

    COFAG has provided around €1 bn in guarantees by now and Austria is one of only four EU countries to offer 100% guarantees.

    Advance payment of the fixed cost subsidy

    Additionally to the state guarantees, the fund provides a second relief mechanism in the form of grants to particularly hard-hit companies. These grants cover fixed costs and perishable goods.

    The subsidy is staggered and, depending on the extent of the loss, up to 75 % of fixed costs and perishable goods can be reimbursed. It is now also possible to pay this subsidy in advance.

    Applications can be submitted on FinanzOnline from 20th May. The finance office checks plausibility in an automated process before COFAG conducts the final checks and approves the payment.