Germany's Merz Has a Problem: Can He Spend a Trillion Euros?
By and Mark Schroers
Save
German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has locked in political backing for a grand plan to ramp up investment in its infrastructure and military.
Now he needs to spend the money, and that's not straightforward in a country that often struggles to get things done.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business of Fashion
an hour ago
- Business of Fashion
Zara Owner Inditex Posts Slowing Growth
Zara owner Inditex SA reported a muted start to the second quarter and warned that foreign-exchange fluctuations could have a greater impact on results this year than anticipated. The shares tumbled. Revenue at the world's largest listed clothing retailer rose 6% in the five weeks to June 9, excluding currency effects. That was weaker than last year's start to the summer season, the Arteixo, Spain-based retailer said on Wednesday. 'The release fails to dispel concerns on slowing growth,' analysts at Barclays wrote in a note. The company's shares fell as much as 6.4 percent in early Madrid trading. The stock is down about 4.7 percent since the start of the year. Even though current trading is tracking higher than the 4.2 percent sales growth recorded in the first quarter, the latest numbers suggest that Inditex, like its peers, is not immune to a drop in demand prompted by the global trade war. The company has fared better than many of its rivals by keeping tighter controls on inventory, enabling it to remain nimble in a fickle fashion industry, but its sales-growth rates have headed down sharply from the post-pandemic boom era. Swedish rival Hennes & Mauritz AB posted disappointing first-quarter results because of stockpiles of unsold clothing. Foreign-exchange swings are likely to be a greater-than-expected drag on revenue this year, Inditex warned. The company expects currency fluctuations to shave 3 percent off sales this year, up from 1 percent it had expected previously. The adjustment follows a notable depreciation in both the US dollar and the Mexican peso against the euro, shrinking international earnings when converted back to the company's home currency. Other retailers have also signalled the cooling effect FX swings are having with H&M citing a strong kroner as another reason for its weak first-quarter. Last month, German sneaker brand Puma AG said the effect of tariffs and currency fluctuations was challenging to manage. The global garment industry tends to be a dollar-denominated business, which can particularly affect European retailers when they translate earnings back into local currencies. Inditex first spooked the market in March when it signalled a weaker start to its fiscal year, provoking a 7.5 percent fall — the biggest single-day plunge in its shares in five years. In its first quarter ended April 30, operating profit was in line with analyst estimates, while revenue was below expectations. The retailer said costs grew 2.3 percent in the period, rising faster than the 1.5 percent increase in revenue, including currency swings. Asked about the effect of President Donald Trump's tariffs, Inditex said it would use its broad range of suppliers, including those close to home in Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Morocco to manage the situation. 'In any case, I'd say that we see growth opportunities globally, not just in one market,' said Investor Relations Director Gorka Garcia-Tapia Yturriaga on a call with analysts. Over the last few years, the company has invested in both expanding its network of stores and also on refurbishing existing outlets to ensure a better shopping experience for customers. The company plans to spend €1.8 billion ($2 billion) again this year on store improvements and technology, along with an additional €900 million to expand its logistics network. By Clara Hernanz Lizarraga Learn more: The Brewing Controversy Over the Cotton in Your T-Shirt Zara owner Inditex, the world's largest fast fashion company, is ditching the industry's biggest sustainable cotton scheme amid a deforestation scandal and a wider push to prioritise organic fibres.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Unlock 14 Languages With Babbel Through This Money-Saving Offer
The following content is brought to you by PCMag partners. If you buy a product featured here, we may earn an affiliate commission or other compensation. There are always several reasons to put off learning a new language: time, cost, or just not knowing where to start. But now that Babbel's 14-language subscription is available for 78% off through StackSocial for a limited time, getting started is easier than ever. Just make sure to use the coupon code LEARN40 at checkout. This offer gives you unlimited access to all 14 languages on Babbel's platform, including popular options like Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Lessons are designed to be concise, practical, and grounded in real-life conversations, allowing you to acquire valuable skills quickly. Babbel's proven teaching method includes personalized reviews, native-speaker dialogue, and structured learning paths. You'll also get access to Babbel's newest tool: an AI-powered conversation partner that lets you practice speaking, listening, and comprehension in real time. Right now, StackSocial is offering Babbel Language Learning for $129.99 (Reg. $599) when you use code LEARN40 at checkout. No monthly fees, no subscriptions. The offer ends June 30 at 11:59 p.m. PST, so grab this deal while it lasts! Prices subject to change. PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through StackSocial affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chabria: Newsom's 'Democracy is under assault' speech could turn the tables on Trump
Frame it as a call to action or a presidential campaign announcement, Gov. Gavin Newsom's address to America on Tuesday has tapped into our zeitgeist (German words feel oddly appropriate at the moment) in a way few others have. 'Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,' Newsom said during a live broadcast with a California flag and the U.S. flag in the background. 'The moment we've feared has arrived.' What moment exactly is he referring to? President Trump has put Marines and National Guardsmen on the streets of Los Angeles, and granted himself the power to put them anywhere. Wednesday, a top military leader said those forces could "detain" protesters, but not outright arrest them, though — despite what you see on right wing media — most protesters have been peaceful. But every would-be authoritarian ultimately faces a decisive moment, when the fear they have generated must be enforced with action to solidify power. The danger of that moment for the would-be king is that it is also the time when rebellion is most likely, and most likely to be effective. People wake up. In using force against his own citizens, the leader risks alienating supporters and activating resistance. Read more: Mayor Karen Bass decries continuing raids, wonders if L.A. is a 'national experiment' What happens next in Los Angeles between the military and protesters — which group is perceived as the aggressors — may likely determine what happens next in our democracy. If the military is the aggressor and protesters remain largely peaceful, Trump risks losing support. If the protesters are violent, public perception could further empower Trump. The president's immigration czar Tom Homan, said on CNN that what happens next, 'It all depends on the activities of these protesters — I mean, they make the decisions.' Welcome to that fraught moment, America. Who would have thought Newsom would lead on it so effectively? "Everybody who's not a Trumpist in this society has been taken by surprise, and is still groggy from the authoritarian offensive of the last five months," said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at the embattled Harvard University, and author of "How Democracies Die." Levitsky told me that it helps shake off that shock to have national leaders, people who others can look to and rally behind. Especially as fear nudges some into silence. "You never know who that leader sometimes is going to be, and it may be Newsom," Levitsky said. "Maybe his political ambitions end up converging with the small d, democratic opposition." Maybe. Since his address, and a coinciding and A-game funny online offensive, Newsom's reach has skyrocketed. Millions of people watched his address, and hundreds of thousands have followed him on TikTok and other social media platforms. Searches about him on Google were up 9,700%, according to CNN. Love his message or find it laughable, it had reach — partly because it was unapologetically clear and also unexpected. "Trump and his loyalist thrive on division because it allow them to take more power and exert even more control," Newsom said. I was on the ground with the protesters this week, and I can say from firsthand experience that there are a small number of agitators and a large number of peaceful protesters. But Trump has done an excellent job of creating crisis and fear by portraying events as out of the control of local and state authorities, and therefore in need of his intervention. Republicans "need that violence to corroborate their talking points," Mia Bloom told me. She's an expert on extremism and a professor at Georgia State University. Violence "like in the aftermath of George Floyd, when there was the rioting, that actually was helpful for Republicans," she said. Read more: After images of unrest comes the political spin, distorting the reality on the ground in L.A. Levitsky said authoritarians look for crises. "You need an emergency, both rhetorically and legally, to engage in authoritarian behavior," he said. So Trump has laid a trap with his immigration sweeps in a city of immigrants to create opportunity, and Newsom has called it out. And it calling it out — pointing out the danger of protesters turning violent and yet still calling for peaceful protest — Newsom has put Trump in a precarious position that the president may not have been expecting. "Repressing protest is a very risky venture," said Levitsky. "It often, not always, but often, does trigger push back." Levitsky points out that already, there is some evidence that Trump may have overreached, and is losing support. A new poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 76% of Americans oppose the military birthday parade Trump plans on throwing for himself in Washington, D.C. this weekend. That includes disapproval from more than half of Trump supporters. A separate poll by Quinnipiac University found that 54% of those polled disapprove of how he's handling immigration issues, and 56% disapprove of his deportations. Bloom warns that there's a danger in raising too many alarms about authoritarianism right now, because we still have some functioning guardrails. She said that stoking too much fear could backfire, for Newsom and for democracy. "We're at a moment in which the country is very polarized and that these things are being told through two very different types of narratives, and the moment we give the other side, which was a very apocalyptic, nihilistic narrative, we give them fodder, we justify the worst policies" she said. She pointed to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, when some protesters placed flowers in the barrels of soldiers' guns, and act of peaceful protest she said changed public perception. That, she said, is what's needed now. Newsom was clear in his call for peaceful protest. But also clear that it was a call to action in a historic inflection point. We can't know in the moment who or what history will remember, said Levitsky. "It's really important that the most privileged among us stand up and fight," he said. "If they don't, citizens are going to look around and say, 'Well, why should I?" Having leaders willing to be the target, when so many feel the danger of speaking out, has value, he said. Because fear may spread like a virus, but courage is contagious, too. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
