Last week, it was time for another World Climate Summit. Although most countries on this planet - especially the leading polluters - showed little inclination to subordinate their macro-economy to the single cause of "saving the world from climate change," Germany remains defiant. Since there appears to be no other way to forestall the end of the world by global warming, Germany pursues an increasingly radical agenda of its own, incrementally jacking up its "climate targets."

ccording to a recent survey, Germany's demographic development will cause it to drop back from fifth to tenth place among the industrialised countries in the coming decades. This insight does nothing, however, to keep German insurance companies and other institutional investors from concentrating 60% of their real estate in Germany. What property they own in the United States equals 6% and that in the Asia-Pacific region 0.6% of their total real estate holdings. Investments in Latin America account for less than 3% of the assets held by Germany's institutional players.

A recently published poll by Union Investment would be nothing short of sensational if the findings turned out to be representative: Germany's institutional investors supposedly tripled their real estate ratio from 5% to 15%!

For the time being, the Euro is as strong as it's ever been, at least against the US dollar. But what about the future of Europe's single currency?

In its official demographics report, the German Government noted that the country’s population will decline from 81.7 million today to somewhere between 65 and 70 million by 2060, according to model projections. Germany will lose 17 million residents in number, while the residents remaining will be older. The share of those aged 65 and up will surge from 20% today […]

Share prices are climbing to historic all-time highs because the ECB announced that it would buy bonds in unlimited amounts. As good as these tidings may seem, the long-term ramifications will be dramatic and no reason to rejoice at all. Quite on the contrary.

Leftist politicians are falling all over themselves these days with broadsides against "the rich," and everyone has a yet better idea how to shake down, clean out and generally harass our country's overachievers.

The countries of Europe along with private creditors involved - most notably Germany - saved Greece several times from looming bankruptcy, waiving billions and billions in debt. I am not aware of any sign of gratitude from Greece, though.

For weeks, policy makers and financial markets have awaited the outcome of the Greek elections with a great deal of anticipation, and have prepared for a crisis scenario. Is it not revealing that the situation in this small, and for the Eurozone economically insignificant country, suffices to fill us with trepidation and to trigger speculations regarding the end of Europe’s […]

The DIW German Institute for Economic Research, which is affiliated with the Social Democrats and the DGB umbrella organisation of the German unions, has come out with the proposal to ask "the rich" in Germany for a compulsory levy that would be earmarked for the rehabilitation of the federal budget