Business

The former head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi was presented with the prestigious Charlemagne Prize at a ceremony in Aachen, western Germany, on May 14. "You took charge of the euro during a time of crisis, and you stabilized the euro and the eurozone," Chancellor Friedrich Merz said during his speech honoring Draghi.  With his 2024 report on the future of European competitiveness, dubbed the Draghi Report, Merz said Draghi had "pointed the way toward reform with his unsparing analysis." "I think you'll understand why his friends call him Super Mario," the German chancellor joked. Who is Mario Draghi? Draghi is likely mostly remembered as the head of the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB), who worked to stabilize the eurozone during turbulent times. But he had many...

The Iran war is having a profound effect on the global aviation sector, with jet fuel shortages and surging prices wreaking havoc on flight routes. On Tuesday, April 21, Germany's largest carrier Lufthansa announced it had canceled 20,000 flights between May and October to try and save fuel. The airline said the short-haul flights being cut would remove "equivalent to approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel, the price of which has doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict." Dutch airline KLM last week canceled 160 flights for the coming month, while other airlines in Europe and across the Asia-Pacific region are raising prices and grappling with the possibility of mass cancellations as the summer holiday period draws nearer. Fatih Birol, executive director of the Internation...

It's been a nightmare two months for global shipping, with the Strait of Hormuz largely shut to commercial traffic and the threat of fresh attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. Now, a third crisis is brewing — a resurgence in Somali piracy. Even before the latest escalations between the United States, Israel and Iran, around half the vessels bound for Europe from Asia and the Gulf were bypassing the Red Sea and Suez Canal due to earlier strikes by the Iran-backed Houthis. Faced with the threat of attacks around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow chokepoint between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, major shipping firms opted instead for the long detour around southern Africa. This diversion adds two to three weeks and thousands of nautical miles to the journey, taking ships right past So...

Hungary's premier-in-waiting, Peter Magyar, is keen to secure a return to the European Union mainstream and is moving quickly to mend fences.  Part of that mission is a plan to have the country ready to join the euro by the end of the decade. Some, including the governor of the central bank, suggest that timeframe could be overly ambitious, given that outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban will hand over a sluggish economy and a fiscal mess.  But if euro accession is approached in the right way, Hungary could see significant benefits. Back to the European Union mainstream Meeting the requirements of euro adoption will be a daunting task for the incoming government. Magyar's Tisza party has little room to maneuver within its spending and reform plans, especially amid the ongoing crisis ...

Six years ago, an almost unknown German pharmaceutical firm developed the first approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and changed the course of a global pandemic. BioNTech, which had spent over a decade developing mRNA for cancer with little commercial interest, partnered with Pfizer to roll out its Comirnaty coronavirus vaccine in record time, propelling the company and its founders to global fame. Today, however, the Mainz-based biotech firm is facing a harsh reckoning. Numerous studies show COVID vaccines saved millions of lives globally during the pandemicImage: Robert Michael/dpa/picture alliance The firm announced Tuesday it was closing production sites in Germany and Singapore, cutting costs after a €532 million ($627 million) net quarterly loss and bracing for the departure of its visi...

The European Commission has moved to block EU funding for Chinese-made solar technology over fears it could pose a security threat to Europe's power grid and even cause major blackouts.  The decision, which was confirmed on May 4, reflects growing concern in Brussels that Europe's dependence on Chinese green technology is making the bloc vulnerable to security threats. The commission's funding ban is focused on solar inverters, which are often described as the brain of a solar power system. These solar inverters are the devices that convert solar energy into usable electricity. They are connected to the internet and can often be accessed remotely for maintenance and software updates.  The worst case: A blackout across Europe?  "All inverter companies, they do have something like a kil...

Dubai has built a reputation as an oasis of stability in the volatile Middle East region.  The United Arab Emirates' second-richest emirate positioned itself as a secure financial hub where high-net-worth individuals could park capital, run businesses and plan for the long term with confidence. That carefully built image, however, has been shattered by the Iran war. Iranian missile and drone attacks on Gulf targets triggered a sharp economic shock, with the stock markets in Dubai and neighboring Abu Dhabi initially losing $120 billion (€103 billion) in value.Dubai's stock market is rebounding after big initial loses in market value when the war in Iran started in FebruaryImage: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP At the same time, tourism cratered and hotel occupancy dropped to 20% from the usual 70 t...

Renault's new electric Twingo fits easily into the French carmaker's portfolio. It is a modern mini passenger car meant for urban European drivers, but it also tells a story about changes in the broader auto industry.   Renault developed the new Twingo over a breakneck 21 months in Shanghai, following an initial design phase in France.  The car is now in production in Slovenia, arriving this month at dealers with a price tag just under €20,000 ($23,000). The continent-hopping Twingo is a snapshot of a hypercompetitive auto industry and its new center of gravity in China. There, many legacy carmakers are developing new models by focusing on speed, cost and technology.  Germany's Merz seeks China reset as trade imbalance widens To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider u...

"We've been preparing for exactly this moment," German-Venezuelan businessman Thilo Schmitz tells DW. "I'm certain that we'll do very good business over the next five years," the 59-year-old Caracas-born entreprenur predicts. By "this moment" he means the Venezuela's reopening after years of decline. Venezuela has been changing rapidly since United States special forces abductedVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3. Although interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former deputy, continues to handle official business, Schmitz is convinced the US is pulling the strings. "On an economic level, the Americans are calling all the shots," Schmitz said.Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodriguez recently met US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, one of many US officials to visit Ven...

The dramatic rise in energy prices in the wake of the Iran war has led to calls for the European Union to introduce a so-called windfall tax on oil and gas companies, to use some of their profits to help governments fund relief schemes. Earlier this month, the finance and economy ministers of Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain wrote a joint letter to EU Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, asking for such a levy. They wrote that it would "send a clear message that those who profit from the consequences of the ​war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public." Oil companies have made massive profits as a result of the spike in prices caused by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. An analysis by the UK's Guardian new...