German retailers see slower sales growth over consumer uncertainty
BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales rose in 2024, but growth should be more modest this year due to the high level of uncertainty, according to retail association HDE.
Last year, retail sales rose 1.1% compared to the previous year in inflation-adjusted terms, official data showed on Friday. The HDE forecasts 0.5% growth in real terms this year.
"Consumption and the retail sector in Germany will not really gain momentum in 2025 either," said HDE managing director Stefan Genth.
"There is simply too much uncertainty," he said. "Wars, high energy costs and overall economic stagnation are a toxic cocktail for consumption."
In nominal terms, retail sales rose by 2.5% in 2024 and are expected to grow by 2.0% in 2025, according to HDE's forecast.
The latest HDE survey with 700 retailers shows that 22% of respondents expect sales to increase this year, while almost half of them expect results to be below the previous year's level.
In December, retail sales fell by 1.6% compared with the previous month, official data showed. Analysts had predicted a 0.2% increase.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Everyone should keep an eye on this Persian Gulf island
Kharg Island is a small island in the Persian Gulf. It lies 16 miles off the northwest coast of Iran. It's 451 miles from Tehran, Iran's capital - roughly the distance from Detroit to New York City. It is just five miles long, about 40% the size of New York's Manhattan Island. And 125 from Iran's border with Iraq. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter It is also unique in the Persian Gulf. The island's limestone foundation allows it the luxury of fresh water reserves. Most importantly it also is the key port that exports Iranian crude oil. About 90% of Iran's oil exports flow through Kharg's terminal complex. And about a third of those exports go to China. Related: Stock Market Today: Attacks in Middle East Batter Stocks; Oil and Gold soar; Bitcoin Off Kharg could prove to be one of two key strategic places if the Israeli-Iran War (let's call it that for now) spins out of control. The other is the Strait of Hormuz, 21 miles wide at its narrowest, same as the English Channel. About a third of the world's liquified natural gas and 25% of its crude oil must pass through the strait to pass from the 615-mile Persian Gulf to reach buyers in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. Giant oil tankers with oil and natural gas from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Oman and Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain flow though the strait Iran is the northern side of the strait, Oman on the southern. For years, whenever there's a conflict involving Iran, there are fears the country might block the strait. The importance of Kharg and the Strait of Hormuz helps explain why crude oil prices shot up as much as 14% late Thursday on the very first reports of Israel's attack on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Related: Tesla makes a desperate move as it continues to lose customers Ultimately, West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. crude closed Friday up 7% to $71.29, and Brent, the benchmark global crude, was up the same amount to $74.23. If the worst of the conflict scenarios come to pass - Kharg's terminals and the strait are shut down, all bets are off on oil prices and, by extension, natural gas and gasoline prices. Kharg's terminal were blown up during the Iraq-Iran War of 1980-1988. If it happened again, Reuters reported, some analysts were suggesting crude prices could top $120 a barrel or higher, which would send gasoline prices much higher, maybe up to the top U.S. average price of $5.22 a gallon in May 2022. Global economies would be disrupted, and inflation would almost certainly jump. AAA's daily U.S. average gasoline price was up a penny to $3.133 a gallon on Saturday. The price is up just 3.1% so far in 2025.U.S. oil and gas stocks jumped on the Israeli-Iran news Friday. The Energy Sector of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was alone among the 11 sectors of the index to post a gain for the day. Related: Starbucks CEO admits the struggling chain made a major mistake The Energy Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund (XLE) , which matches the index's Energy Sector, was up 1.7%. Oil services giant Halliburton (HAL) was up 5.5%. APA Corp. (APA) , parent of oil-and-gas producer Apache, was up 5.3%. The S&P 500 was down 1.13%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, down as many as 887 points in the afternoon, finished with a 700-point loss, or 1.8%, to 42,198. The major stock indexes - Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq-100 and Russell 2000 - all finished lower on the week. More Economic Analysis: Hedge-fund manager sees U.S. becoming GreeceA critical industry is slamming the economyReports may show whether the economy is toughing out the tariffs That said, many analysts do not believe things will get that out of hand. Similar worries about Kharg and the Strait of Hormuz have generated similar worries and price projections. But, in a note on Friday, Amarpreet Singh, an analyst with Barclay's, said "cool heads have prevailed." Moreover, as Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a consulting firm that watches matters like these, thinks Iran has few cards to play in this conflict. Israeli intelligence capabilities are just too capable, he said on a podcast, and Iran's military capacity has been diminished substantially by the attacks this week. Still, attention must be paid. Most definitely. Related: Veteran fund manager issues dire stock market warning The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Business Insider
6 hours ago
- Business Insider
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says his company is a 'convenient scapegoat' as European cities protest overtourism
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said his company isn't to blame for overtourism in certain European cities. Rather, Chesky said overtourism is due to poor policy and long-standing housing issues. Anti-overtourism activists plan to protest in cities like Barcelona and Venice on Sunday. Overtourism is rattling cities across Europe, where some activists blame short-term rental companies like Airbnb for swelling the cost of living and limiting housing options for locals. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky disagrees. Chesky addressed the criticisms during an interview with Dagmar Von Taube of WELT, a German newspaper that is part of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, saying, "I've heard the criticisms — and I have responses." The tech billionaire mentioned Barcelona, where activists protested overtourism in 2024 and are planning further protests on Sunday. "In Barcelona, housing prices rose 60% over the past decade, but Airbnb listings actually decreased. So we can't be the culprits. Sure, people see a lot of tourists, but many of them are cruise ship passengers or hotel guests — in Barcelona, that's around 70%," Chesky said. Airbnb has become a "convenient scapegoat for a failed policy and deep, long-standing housing issues," he said. "Cities haven't built enough new homes to match urban growth. That's the real crisis," Chesky said. "But we're committed to working with cities. We support modern, targeted regulations that protect housing without blocking hosts from occasionally sharing their homes." Chesky's remarks came after Airbnb blamed hotels for the problem this week. In a new report, Airbnb said hotels make up "almost 80% of guest nights in the EU." Theo Yedinsky, Airbnb's vice president for public policy, echoed Chesky's "scapegoat" remark in an interview with The Financial Times published this week. That garnered a response from Tui, Europe's biggest travel operator, which pushed back against Airbnb's suggestion that it's not getting a fair shake on Friday. "The reason protesters hit the streets is because of issues with the cost of living and especially housing. Both are driven by the secondary home market and short-term leases," Alexander Panczuk, group director of policy and reputation at Tui," told The Guardian. "All the destinations where we have seen the conflict of tourists and living spaces in the last few years are not where [operators like] Tui are active." Representatives for Airbnb did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Although tourism can boost economies, those grappling with overtourism say the influx of travelers in their cities has caused the cost of living to spike, contributed to housing crises, and encouraged overcrowding. Last July, protesters took to the streets of Barcelona holding signs that read "Barcelona is not for sale" and "Tourists go home." Some even sprayed people visiting popular tourist spots with water guns. That June, the city announced its intention to ban all short-term rentals. Activists have also staged demonstrations in Italy, Mallorca, and other popular destinations. Widespread protests are scheduled for Sunday in cities across Spain, Portugal, and Italy. "When they (officials) say that we have to specialise in tourism, they are basically telling us that you have to get poorer so that other people can get richer," Daniel Pardo Rivacoba, a spokesperson for Barcelona's Neighbourhoods Assembly for Tourism Degrowth, told the outlet.
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
White House reviews SpaceX contracts as Trump-Musk feud simmers, sources say
The White House earlier this month directed the Defense Department and NASA to gather details on billions of dollars in SpaceX contracts following the public blowout between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, four people familiar with the order told Reuters. Sparking an ongoing review, the administration ordered the agencies to scrutinize Musk's contracts to prepare possible retaliation against the businessman and his companies, these people said. As Reuters reported on Thursday, Pentagon officials are simultaneously considering whether to reduce the role that SpaceX, Musk's space and satellite company, may win in an ambitious new U.S. missile defense system. Advertisement 5 The White House directed the Defense Department and NASA to gather details on billions of dollars in SpaceX contracts following the blowout between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. camrocker – Reuters couldn't determine whether the White House intends to cancel any of the approximately $22 billion in federal contracts SpaceX now has. But the review shows the administration is following through on a threat by Trump during his spat with Musk last week to possibly terminate business and subsidies for Musk's ventures. 'We'll take a look at everything,' the president said, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on June 6. Advertisement In an email to Reuters, a White House spokesperson didn't answer questions about Musk's business, saying the 'Trump administration is committed to a rigorous review process for all bids and contracts.' In a separate statement, a spokesperson at NASA said the agency 'will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met.' Neither SpaceX nor officials at the Defense Department responded to requests for comment. 5 Pentagon officials are simultaneously considering whether to reduce the role that SpaceX, Musk's space and satellite company, may win in an ambitious new U.S. missile defense system. REUTERS The people familiar with the order said the contract scrutiny is intended to give the administration the ability to move fast if Trump decides to act against Musk, who until recently was a senior advisor to the president and the head of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The review is 'for political ammunition,' one of the people said. Advertisement Whether the U.S. government could legally, or practically, cancel existing contracts is unclear. But the possibility underscores concerns among governance experts that politics and personal pique could improperly influence matters affecting government coffers, national security, and the public interest. 'There's an irony here that Musk's contracts could be under the same type of subjective political scrutiny that he and his DOGE team have put on thousands of other contracts,' said Scott Amey, a contracting expert and general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group based in Washington. 'Any decision shouldn't be based on the egos of two men but on the best interests of the public and national security.' 5 Musk's SpaceX in recent years has become a crucial partner of the U.S. government in much of its aerospace and defense work, according to reports. AP 5 A White House spokesperson didn't answer questions about Musk's business, saying the 'Trump administration is committed to a rigorous review process for all bids and contracts,' in response to Reuters. Getty Images Advertisement Musk's SpaceX in recent years has become a crucial partner of the U.S. government in much of its aerospace and defense work, launching satellites and other space cargo and potentially managing a crucial element of the 'Golden Dome' missile shield planned by Trump. Although Musk in recent days has sought to walk back some of his critiques of the president, such as calling for Trump's impeachment last week and linking him to a convicted sex offender, his outbursts nonetheless highlighted the government's reliance on SpaceX. 5 The review shows the administration is following through on a threat by Trump during his spat with Musk last week to possibly terminate business and subsidies for Musk's ventures. AFP via Getty Images Before reversing course, Musk threatened to decommission the company's Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, as part of a roughly $5 billion contract with NASA, is the only U.S. vessel currently capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX is also building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with the National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. intelligence agency. The contract was a pivotal transaction for SpaceX, deepening its ties with U.S. defense and intelligence services.
