Latest news with #RWI
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pokémon trading cards are a hot item for Metro Detroit thieves
The Brief Pokémon cards are making a comeback and even leading to some criminal activities. Novelty shops had them swiped from their shelves, with thieves using hammers to get at some Warren police and investigators in Livonia are on the case. DETROIT (FOX 2) - A popular trading card from the 90s, Pokémon, is making a comeback, especially for thieves. What they're saying Everyone remembers Pokémon cards, a huge thing in the 90s, and now in 2025, they are a hot ticket item for thieves. Novelty shops had them swiped from their shelves, with thieves using hammers to get at some high-dollar cards, and they hit not one but two stores in Metro Detroit. The duo used a brick from the shop's own lot to bust in last week, making a beeline for the Pokémon cards tucked into glass cabinets bludgeoned open at RWI Hobbies in Livonia. Pam Willoughby is the owner of the shop. "I think it's going to settle in somewhere between $10-$12,000," Willoughby said. Willoughby says Pokémon cards are hot this year, making them hard to come by with resales being 3 to 4 times what you pay, especially the coveted Charizard card. "He can be anywhere from $5-$12/$1,300. They did drop a Charizard on the way out the door," Willoughby said. In 27 years, this is only the second time they've been targeted at RWI. "There was no need, they could have filled out an application, they could have gotten a job," she said. Willoughby says there is only a matter of time before they're caught. "I certainly don't want to ruin anyone's life, and I've already given the detective basically my restitution and all I'm asking for is my insurance deductible back," she said. Dig deeper The same duo showed up days later with a hammer in hand at another shop, Eternal Games in Warren. Dakota Olszewski is the assistant manager of the shop, and she tells FOX 2 they stole $3,500 worth of singles. Insurance is expected to cover the losses at both places, but Pokémon cards are almost impossible to restock. "I don't think we are going to find the cards specifically, which is a bummer because they're pretty cool," Olszewski said. What you can do Warren police and investigators in Livonia are on the case. If you can help, give them a call.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top German institutes expect minimal growth in 2025 amid US tariffs
Germany's leading economic institutes expect the country's economy to see minimal growth in 2025, in part due to the new US tariff policy. In a joint report published on Thursday, the economists cut their forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2025 from 0.8% to 0.1%, warning that US President Donald Trump's tariffs on cars, aluminium and steel would cost the German economy at least 0.1% in growth for the next two years. Additional measures - such as the 20% tariff on all goods from the European Union that Trump paused for 90 days on Wednesday - could further drag down the German economy, the report said. The tariffs leave Europe's largest economy teetering on the edge of a third consecutive year of recession, after a 0.2% drop in GDP in 2024. "Geopolitical tensions and the protectionist US trade policy are exacerbating an already tense economic situation in Germany," said Torsten Schmidt from the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (RWI). The country is suffering from structural issues, such as high social security contributions, a falling working population and excessive bureaucracy, the report said. German exports face increasing competition from China, while the country's key industrial sector is still struggling with the consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent leap in energy prices. The incoming German government - made up of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats, the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party - has promised to turn the sluggish economy around. The partners have already passed a landmark package to loosen constitutional rules on government borrowing for defence, and to hike spending on infrastructure and climate protection measures. This could help to boost GDP by 0.5% in 2026, the report said, with total growth for the year expected at 1.3% - dependent on the impact of Trump's tariffs. The report - jointly written by the RWI, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the Munich-based ifo Institute, the Halle Institute for Economic Research and the German Institute for Economic Research - is commissioned by the German Economy Ministry twice a year, and influences the German government's own economic forecasts. Sign in to access your portfolio
Zawya
10-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
German economy to stagnate even if Trump scraps 'reciprocal' tariffs, say forecasters
German economic institutes on Thursday cut their growth forecast for this year to 0.1% from the 0.8% expected in September, taking into consideration initial U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars, confirming an earlier Reuters report. Exports-dependent Germany is the only G7 economy that has contracted for the last two years. The further "reciprocal" tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2 and suspended on Wednesday could still deal a major blow to Europe's biggest economy, the institutes said, possibly "doubling the negative effects." This could put Germany on track for a third year of recession for the first time in post-war history. Trump's "aggressive trade policy (is) keeping the global economy on tenterhooks," said Klaus Weyerstrass of the Vienna-based research institute IHS, which contributed to the forecast. "The additional trade barriers are a significant burden on the global economy ... especially because of their unpredictability," he said. "Changes to tariffs can occur practically daily, which has increased economic policy uncertainty to an unprecedented degree." German conservatives under Friedrich Merz agreed a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats on Wednesday, aiming to revive growth in Europe's largest economy. The institutes' new forecasts factor in U.S. tariffs of 25% on EU aluminium, steel and cars - which are still in place - but not the tariff increases of 20% on other goods announced last week and suspended for a 90-day period on Wednesday. For 2026, the institutes forecast economic growth of 1.3%, unchanged from the previous forecast. After the February election, the conservatives led by chancellor-in-waiting Merz and the Social Democrats announced a 500 billion euro ($544 billion) fund for infrastructure and sweeping changes to borrowing rules to bolster defence and revive growth. The fiscal package would likely lead to additional government spending of 24 billion euros in 2026, adding half a percentage point to economic growth, the institutes said. Torsten Schmidt of the RWI institute, which also contributed to the forecast, warned that additional spending in areas such as civil engineering and defence should be executed over time. The new government "needs to exercise a bit of judgement here in order to channel the funds in such a way that they promote growth in the real economy and do not simply evaporate in price effects," he said. Economic weakness is set to take a toll on the German labour market, however. Unemployment is seen edging higher this year to 6.3% from 6.0% in 2024, before falling to 6.2% next year. Inflation in Germany is expected by the institutes at 2.2% this year, before falling to 2.1% in 2026. The economy ministry incorporates the combined estimates from the institutes - Ifo, DIW, IWH, IfW and RWI - into its own predictions.
