Anyone who offers respirators, disinfectants and durable foods is in great demand. Many other companies are affected by the disease of all times.
Berlin (dpa) - stock market prices drop, trade fairs are canceled, flights are canceled: the spread of the novel corona virus is increasingly burdening the economy.
The Geneva Motor Show in the coming week will be canceled, and the ITB travel trade fair in Berlin is on the brink. At the end of a historically poor trading week, investors sold shares across the board, the Dax and Dow Jones indices lost several percent. Several airlines canceled flights, especially to northern Italy.
The British Airways mother IAG does not venture a profit forecast for 2020 because of the spread of the new corona virus. Easyjet sets up an austerity program and, similar to Lufthansa, defers hiring and promotions.
In a survey by the German Press Agency, numerous retail chains spoke of increased sales of products such as canned food or disinfectants. In the short term, there were also bottlenecks in some stores. The German trade association emphasized that the delivery structures in the trade are efficient and well prepared, so that the supply of the population is guaranteed.
"The export-oriented German economy is particularly badly affected by the interruption of international supply chains," said Stefan Schneider, chief economist at Deutsche Bank for Germany. The consequences of the corona virus could lead to a recession in Germany. This means that economic output declines in two consecutive quarterly periods.
The virus hits the economy in the doldrums anyway. International trade conflicts and the slowdown in the global economy are putting the brakes on. The previous engine has also weakened, consumption in Germany.
The Deutsche Bundesbank sees the corona virus as an additional risk in the short term. "Based on the current information, I expect this risk to materialize in part," said Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann in Frankfurt. How big this effect could be is currently difficult to estimate seriously. The Association of German Machine and Plant Manufacturers now primarily asked for the opportunity to use short-time work quickly and without red tape.
Messe Berlin wanted to announce by Friday evening whether the ITB travel trade fair could take place next week in view of the new Corona virus. If major events are canceled, this would also affect hotels, restaurants and caterers. The industry association Dehoga reiterated on Friday that the industry has so far only been able to identify "a single point of concern". "Occasionally, hotels report cancellations by Chinese travelers," it said in a statement.
The five-day International Tourism Exchange (ITB) with around 10,000 exhibitors is supposed to start on Wednesday. Due to the virus, the organizers have already lowered expectations and are expecting fewer visitors than last year at 160,000. Several exhibitors have canceled. The ITB China in Shanghai planned for May had been canceled last week.
Switzerland banned events with more than 1000 people. This ban also falls victim to the Geneva Motor Show, which was due to start on Monday and was expected to attract 600,000 visitors. The Geneva watch fair, which was only planned for April, had previously been canceled. For the auto industry, the cancellation of the auto show is another blow after the postponement of the major Chinese auto show in Beijing, which is actually planned for April.
Shares of alleged profiteers of the viral disease were in demand on the stock exchanges on Friday, including the respiratory mask manufacturer Drägerwerk and the provider of video conference software Teamviewer. Meanwhile, the oil price continues to fall. At noon, a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent cost $ 51.13. That was $ 1.05 less than the previous day. From a weekly perspective, the market is heading for the worst losses since 2011.
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