Is the Credit Crunch Over?

The “Biz-Barometer”, the online poll on the website of the German American Chamber www.gaccny.com shows 74% of respondents think the Credit Crunch will be over by the end of this year.

Still ongoing developments in the US concerning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the country’s mortgage giants, seem to point in the opposite direction. The new developments are in addition to the report that Treasury officials have met with Freddie and Fannie officials to discuss what possible structure a government intervention might take if it becomes necessary. The bailout for the two mortgage giants is still unclear at the moment. A possible structure would consist of the government purchasing massive quantities of preferred stock in both companies. One of the first casualties of the subprime mortgage crisis in Germany, was IKB Deutsche Industriebank. Now Lone Star Funds, the Dallas-based private equity firm, has agreed to acquire 90.8 per cent of  IKB after the German bank collapsed.
 
It remains to be seen if the Crunch will be over or if it is just the beginning. Dr. Axel Weber, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, said on Aug 14th in Germany that “recessions tend to be a lot deeper and more protracted than in the US, which is better able to cope with the ups and downs of the business cycle.”

 

+++++ Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation Contributes $25,000 +++++ German container firm to open Plainfield site +++++ Shift at the Top Emphasizes SAP’s Bottom Line +++++ Ag growth fuels $15 million Bayer expansion +++++ American Kuhne opens new digs +++++ Siemens buys digital engineering software vendor +++++ Merrill, Goldman, Deutsche Bank settle auction-rate probes +++++ Lanxess chooses Pittsburgh area new headquarter +++++ German company to open mirror plant near airport +++++ IKB sale agreed, sources say Lone Star chosen +++++ ‘World Cuisine of the Black Forest’ Receives Two Mid-Atlantic Emmy® Nominations +++++ Continental and Schaeffler: A Perfect Match +++++ Germany Gets Protective +++++ CPV buys wind turbines from Siemens +++++ Broadwind Energy to Supply Integrated Tower Solution to Nordex +++++ Joint venture plans $1.8 billion Texas offshore oil port and pipeline system +++++ Lufthansa CFO to become JetBlue director +++++ Montefiore's CMO and Health Hero Network Create Partnership +++++ German pharma makes U.S. debut in Durham +++++ ThyssenKrupp faces higher investment costs in the U.S. +++++ T-Mobile to offer first Android smartphone +++++ BMW recalls 200K vehicles in U.S. due to airbag issue +++++ Freightliner to cut 100 jobs at S.C. plant  +++++ German machine tool builder expanding operations in Michigan +++++ Travel authorization needed before U.S. entry +++++ German Hochtief wins new orders worth about 212 mln euros in U.S. +++++ Fresenius raises 289 mln euros in shares +++++ Konstantin Thoeren quits Internationalmedia +++++ German stocks rise to six-week high +++++

>>> Read more news in the Ticker Archive

There is a world so small, it is almost invisible – even with a microscope. That world is
the field of nanotechnology, the realm of atoms and nanostructures. A nanometer (nm) is one-billionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair. Making structures with nanoscopic dimensions visible and analyzing their physical and chemical properties are the core competencies of the Nano Technology Systems division from Carl Zeiss – an international group of companies founded 160 years ago in Jena – Germany.
  

>>> For the full  Cover story see the Sep German American Trade magazine, page 8-11.

The Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has initiated an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) for screening passengers before they begin travel to the United States. Effective January 12, 2009, this travel authorization becomes mandatory for all U.S. visitors (business/tourist) who wish to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. The travel authorization must be filed online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov at least three days prior to departure. This website provides an automated form that can be filled out by the traveler or a third party.
The travel authorization is valid for two years from the date of authorization or until the passport expires.
 
 

Offshore drilling has been in the political discussion lately, being a priority issue for American voters. The great increase in oil prices – the U.S. average for a gallon of regular hit a record high of $ 4.11 on July 7th – has shown up as a top concern in most of recent voter polls. The U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.) estimates that 18 billion barrels of theoretically recoverable oil are available in offshore areas of the United States. These areas are now closed to drilling. However, considering that oil is a globally traded commodity the produced oil would enter the global market and feed the global demand only for less than seven months. Evidently, as oil is globally traded, the price of oil derives from this global market. 
 
For further information contact renewable energies specialist Sebastian Göres, Manager Consulting Services at the GACC NY. Read the complete article.

The German American Chamber of Commerce, New York, commemorates the 80th Anniversary of the First Atlantic Crossing of the Passenger Airship “Graf Zeppelin” .

Rüdiger Lentz Bureau Chief of Deutsche Welle/Washington, will interview Dr. Uwe Eckener, grandson of the Airship’s commander Dr. Hugo Eckener together with news footage of 1928. Ute Lemper will sing songs of the 1920s. Hayes Kavanagh and his New York Jazz Band will play Jazz from the 1920s. The chef cook will prepare the same menu from the second night onboard the Graf Zeppelin. Time period dresses or accessories encouraged!

The Evening of the Second Night on Board the Airship Graf Zeppelin will take place at the Hudson Theatre 145 West 44th Street, New York Thursday, October 16, 2008.

 
>>> For further invitation contact Ms. Inge Orth or see our website.
 

The World Trade Indicators (WTI) is an interactive tool designed to benchmark a country’s trade policy and institutions and help policy makers, advisors, and analysts’ identify the main border and behind-the border constraints to trade integration. The WTI 2008 database is organized in five thematic categories, namely Trade Policy, External Environment, Institutional Environment, Trade Facilitation and Trade Outcome. Each category contains a main indicator and other reference indicators. Countries’ trade performance can be examined individually as well as in relation to other countries or country groupings, including by membership of trade agreements. To capture the key insights from both the indicators and country-level trade-related analytical work, Country Briefs and Trade at-a-Glance (TAAG) tables are also are provided.
 
>>> Read the the WTI database 2008 

The first exhibition center to gain energy-efficiency certificate from TÜV SÜD
 

The New Munich Trade Fair Centre has become the first exhibition center worldwide to gain the certificate “Energy Efficient Enterprise” from the technical inspection authorities, TÜV SÜD. This certificate attests to the fact that the exhibition company is using the latest technology and continually striving to optimise its energy consumption.  As one of the top trade-fair companies in Germany and around the world, Messe München is taking a pioneering approach to environmental and climate protection. 

“Our goal is to use state-of-the-art technology to achieve the most efficient results, ecologically, technically and economically, in energy consumption and CO2 emissions,” said Manfred Wutzlhofer, Chairman & CEO of Messe München GmbH.