zvaigzdelasas:

Scholz says Germany is prepared for Russian gas halt, doubters warn ‘unavoidable’ recession

“Many companies will go bankrupt,” predicted the head of a German think tank on Saturday.

Fortune

The chancellor’s claim that the country is prepared was disputed, however, by Germany’s Association of Towns and Municipalities, which represents around 14,000 municipalities and towns across the nation, as well as by economic think tank DIW.

Europe’s largest economy is at the center of the continent’s energy crunch as Russian President Vladimir Putin slashes supplies in retaliation for sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. […]

[The] president of […] DIW, told media network RND on Saturday that he expects a longer downturn in Germany.

“Recession is unavoidable, we are already in a downturn,” said Fratzscher, adding he is concerned the economy won’t recover fast and instead shrink in 2023. “2024 won’t be such a good year either,” the economist said and warned Germany is at risk of having to put up with a few years of stagflation.

Fratzscher predicted that “many companies will go bankrupt” because the government can’t save them all. […]

Earlier this week, the German government was dealt a blow to its plans to keep some nuclear power plants online as back-up reserve. The plan, unveiled by Economy Minister Robert Habeck, was rejected by one of Germany’s nuclear power plant operators, which said it “is technically not doable and therefore not suitable as a means to secure the supply share of these plants.”

10 Sep 22