The green bond market has grown strongly in recent years, especially in the euro area. With regard to the European Union’s climate targets, it is likely that the demand for green bonds—bonds that specifically support sustainable projects— will continue to increase in the future. The European Central Bank (ECB) is buying green bonds as well and is planning to reorient its strategy towards more sustainability. ...
The resurgence of the pandemic and renewed lockdowns have slowed the recovery of the global economy, but the overall losses will be less severe than after the first coronavirus wave in spring 2020. Industry in particular continues to develop well. In contrast, retail trade and personal services have been heavily affected, especially in hard-hit regions such as Europe. However, the fiscal stimulus cushions ...
The catastrophic accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011, revealed unexpected safety risks of nuclear energy once again. It also accelerated the decline of nuclear energy in the international energy sector: Nuclear energy’s share of global electricity generation fell from 17 percent in 1996 to 13 percent in 2011 to approximately ten percent in 2019, with a share of primary ...
The global economy recovered more quickly than expected in the third quarter of 2020. Following the coronavirus-related slumps, economic output increased by seven percent. A decrease in infection rates and thus an easing of containment measures contributed to re-normalizing production processes and trade. Private households also began demanding more consumer goods again, especially personal services. ...
The coronavirus pandemic has affected the Gulf countries in a particular way. In addition to the direct consequences of the pandemic, the spread of the coronavirus has led to a collapse in demand for the Gulf countries’ most important source of revenue: oil. Its price, which had fallen initially due to the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, collapsed in spring 2020. Although it recovered somewhat ...
The coronavirus pandemic caused a global market crash in the first half of 2020. Following a massive slump of around four percent in the first quarter, global GDP decreased in the second by five percent. Lower rates of new infections, together with far-reaching monetary and fiscal policy measures to dampen the economic impact of the pandemic, ensure that production and the trust of consumers and firms ...