1. The ECB raises the key interest rate to 4.5 percent – because inflation in the eurozone is falling only slowly and energy prices are rising again
The business of central bankers is difficult for the majority of humanity to understand. That's why bankers like to borrow from flora and fauna to explain what they're doing – that's how my colleague Tim Bartz from the economics department explains it. There are "doves" who tend to take it easy on inflation and like to keep interest rates low, and "hawks" who are convinced of the opposite.
In view of high inflation, the weakening economy and what all this means for key interest rates, the European Central Bank, ECB for short, has recently focused on the question: Table Mountain or Matterhorn? In the case of the Matterhorn variant, the ECB would continue to raise interest rates, with the risk of having to lower them again soon as the economy collapses, and raise them again if things turn out differently – a kind of interest rate zigzag analogous to the silhouette of the Swiss mountain giant. Or will it raise interest rates by another small step, i.e. on a kind of plateau á la Table Mountain, and leave them there for a longer period of time?
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ECB headquarters in Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Daniel Roland / AFP
Today, the Governing Council of the Federal Reserve decided in favour of Table Mountain. It raised key interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points, but that was probably it for now, as ECB President Christine Lagarde indicated.
The reasons: Inflation remains stubbornly high at 5.3 percent, well above the ECB's two percent target – the central bank has even slightly increased its forecasts for inflation. At the same time, Europe's economy is weakening, and the ECB has even lowered its forecasts for economic growth.
"These are somewhat gloomy prospects," says my colleague Tim. The ECB is also continuing to raise interest rates because energy prices are rising again. As a result, loans will become more expensive and with them the investment leeway of many companies. On the other hand, the ECB's main task is the fight against high prices.
"The fact that the ECB is so strict is also due to the fact that it was late in recognizing the dangers of inflation and gambling away trust. Now she has to regain confidence, and she thinks the best way to do that is to keep raising interest rates," says Tim, who works in Frankfurt. But he also warns: "Interest rate hikes only take effect with a delay of many months. In other words, possibly only when the economy is in full recession. It remains a real balancing act for the ECB." And quite obviously on Table Mountain.
Read more here: The end of rate hikes has come
2. In a letter to Chancellor Scholz, three traffic light MPs call for Taurus weapons for Ukraine – the Chancellor is apparently too hesitant for them
In the debate about German arms deliveries, politicians repeatedly switch from the camp of the doves – in which all those who urge caution and restraint – sit to the camp of the hawks, who want to provide the country with all the necessary means to defend itself against the Russian aggressors as quickly as possible. Today, a letter to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius became known, in which three deputies of the traffic light coalition - Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the FDP, Andreas Schwarz of the SPD and Anton Hofreiter of the Greens - put pressure on the delivery of long-range missiles to Kyiv. Falcon mail, so to speak.
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Tornado fighter jet with guided missile Taurus
Photo: Andrea Bienert / dpa
My colleague Marina Kormbaki reports that MEPs are responding in particular to concerns in the Chancellery that Ukraine could attack targets on Russian territory with guided missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometres, the Taurus cruise missile system. Representatives of the Ukrainian government had assured them, in some cases in personal conversations, that the weapon system would be used exclusively on the territory of Ukraine. "We see no reason to doubt this promise," the letter reads.
"There are about 600 Taurus weapon systems stored in the Air Force depots," Marina writes. "Since May, Ukraine has been demanding german-Swedish-made weapons." Chancellor Scholz has made it clear several times that he does not want to be pressured into making a decision. Apparently, the Chancellery and the Ministry of Defense are having the manufacturer check whether the range of the Taurus cruise missiles could be technically limited.
In its letter to the Chancellery and the Ministry of Defense, the traffic light trio now urges haste and refers in its letter to the approaching winter. At the same time, according to Martina, the three wanted to "counteract the impression that they see a solution to the conflict only on the battlefield." The war could only be ended by diplomatic means.
Read the full story here: Mail to Scholz – Traffic light trio urges haste
And here are more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:
Putin accepts Kim's invitation to North Korea: In Russia, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un exchanged guns as gifts. Now North Korea's ruler wants to receive the Russian president in his country. He is said to have reacted "with joy".
Russia expels two U.S. diplomats: Two U.S. diplomats have to leave Russia within a week because of espionage allegations, the State Department in Moscow has announced to U.S. Ambassador Lynn Tracy.
How questionable Russian investors are pushing into the Berlin real estate market: The sewage company Mosvodokanal is helping to recruit Russian soldiers and probably gave orders to the boss's long-time partner. It also invests in luxury real estate in Berlin, according to internal documents.
3. Pharmacists warn of drug shortages in winter, Health Minister Lauterbach still sees no cough syrup crisis
I missed him a little over the summer, but now Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, whom I appreciate as one of the most original German politicians, is speaking out quite often again. Today he warned against hoarding medicines. It is true that bottlenecks cannot be ruled out in the coming winter in the event of strong waves of infection. But the German health care system is in a much better position than last year, also because more domestic production is being carried out.
At the same time, Germany's pharmacists today explicitly warned of a shortage of medicines in the coming months. According to their association, there is a shortage of preparations for children. Currently, around 1.5 million people in Germany are affected by bottlenecks in the supply of medicines every day.
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Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD)
Photograph:
Kay Nietfeld / dpa
Should there really be a supply gap, additional imports will be made possible, the health minister promised. Pharmacists should also be able to prescribe alternatives if certain pack sizes or brands are not available, without the need for a new prescription or contact with the doctor.
And what about the supply? "Empty pharmacy shelves, full hospital beds – last winter the children were feverish like crazy and it was precisely in this situation that Germany ran out of fever," says my colleague Sebastian Stoll. "We don't want that to happen again."
After all, Minister Lauterbach had brought an anti-bottleneck law through parliament and sought talks with manufacturers that they would like to produce more medicines. "Today, the minister gave an outlook on the coming cold season and said that the country was in a much better position than last year." However, bottlenecks cannot be ruled out in the event of a strong wave of infections and hoarding purchases are, dear parents, please refrain from doing so. "In other words," says Sebastian, "if everything goes well, then everything goes well."
Read more here: Lauterbach warns parents against hoarding purchases
What else is important today
Volkswagen cuts jobs: The demand for e-cars is likely to collapse considerably soon, the boom is over: Volkswagen therefore wants to cut jobs. The electric car factory in Zwickau is affected.
"There are greater casualties than in a war": Drone and satellite images from Libya show how devastating the consequences of the flood disaster are. Relatives in neighbouring Egypt are also in mourning. And one helper is overwhelmed by emotions in the interview.
CDU in Hesse holds clear lead over SPD and Greens: The CDU can hope for a clear victory a good three weeks before the state elections in Hesse. Behind the Christian Democrats around Prime Minister Boris Rhein, there are signs of a close race for second place.
State Returning Officer sees smooth elections in Berlin at risk: An electoral chaos like 2021 should not be repeated in elections in Berlin, but the state returning officer is sounding the alarm: Decisive reforms have not yet been implemented – a particular obstacle has apparently already been identified.
My favorite story today: The man behind the luxury slippers
Birkenstock sandals are more popular than ever, my colleague Theresa Stoll and my colleagues Tim Bartz, Lukas Homrich and Alexander Kühn, Leo Klimm portray the head of the manufacturer. Oliver Reichert wants to take the company public soon, his methods are not as gentle as the image of the shoe manufacturer.
My colleagues call him a "rumbling giant". Reichert is a former football player, two meters tall, wide cross, red beard, Viking type. Reichert has "the thickest eggs you can imagine," says one who works with him. The timing for an IPO seems ideal, because during Corona many people put on the comfortable shoes in the home office - and because of Barbie: "In the Hollywood film, which was released in July, the blonde doll swaps her high heels for the German slippers. Hundreds of millions of people around the world have seen the epic in pink so far. A PR coup for which Birkenstock allegedly didn't even have to pay.«
Read the full story here: Birkenstock goes public
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
"The repressive apparatus is not geared towards disaster relief": Thousands of people have died in the floods in Libya, and aid is slow to arrive. Expert Wolfram Lacher explains why even now the political rivalries in the country are not resting.
How this woman in Hamburg is fighting to ensure that her country does not disappear: In front of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, a few small island states are fighting for better climate protection. And about survival .
Your computer is also in dire need of an update now: Shortly after Apple, Google, Mozilla and Microsoft are also distributing a security update to close a potentially dangerous vulnerability. A connection has not yet been confirmed, but is obvious.
What is less important today
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Photo: Norbert Jansen / fohlenfoto / IMAGO
Thomas Tuchel, 50, coach of FC Bayern Munich, is no smarter than millions of German football fans – and considersJulian Nagelsmann, 36, to be a good choice for the position of German national coach. "Of course he can, he's an outstanding coach," said the coach. As SPIEGEL confirmed, the DFB has actually made contact with Nagelsmann's team. Like most football Germans, Tuchel believes that improvement work is necessary: "There has to be a turnaround."
Mini concave mirror
Here you will find the whole concave mirror.
Cartoon of the Day
And tonight?
Could you go to the cinema and watch Kenneth Branagh's new film, a decidedly old-fashioned crime thriller called "A Haunting in Venice". Branagh himself once again plays the leading role of the detective Hercule Poirot, invented by Agatha Christie, who is famous for his nicely twirled beard and his powers of deduction. What is really elegant about this somewhat staid horror film is the Venetian palazzo in which it takes place – and the music by Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir.
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Artist: Guðnadóttir
Photograph:
Etienne Laurent / EPA-EFE / REX
In an interview with my colleague Freya Dieckmann, Guðnadóttir said some very clever things about her craft that I like very much. "I don't like having music in a film all the time," she says, for example. »The more sparingly music is used, the more powerful their statements can be.«
Have a nice evening. Heartily
Yours, Wolfgang Höbel, Author in the Culture Department