Controversial Bonus Payments: Exorbitant bonus payments and manager salaries have triggered public outrage. The German government has agreed on stricter rules to govern salaries in management, but the debate is long from over. MADE IN GERMANY portrays Geraint Anderson, a former leading utilities research analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort who became famous when he broke the City’s code of silence.
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Auto Industry in Turmoil – Small Cars in Short Supply
The German government’s recently introduced cash incentive for people who scrap their old cars and buy new ones is beginning to have an impact on the German car market. The new CO2-based car tax, which will be introduced in July and classifies cars according to their emissions is also having an effect. Small cars are in big demand - and that's causing some problems.
Customers wanting to buy small cars are having to wait months for them to be delivered. And yet at the same time, some car manufacturers are calling for billions in state assistance and have put their workers on short-time. Andreas Hewel visits car dealers in Dusseldorf, testing the situation at Skoda, Peugeot, Nissan and VW. His goal is to find the best possible deal and drive away with the new car from the forecourt.
Fat Cats Under Fire for Inflated Salaries and Bonuses – How to Prevent Future Abuses?
Six-figure bonuses for bankers helped cause the global financial crisis and continue to harm the economy, according to thirty-six-year old Geraint Anderson. And he should know. Anderson spent 12 years working as an investment banker in London. During that time he worked for Commerzbank and Dresdner Kleinwort among others.
The onetime banker and his colleagues frequently received bonuses that far outstripped their regular salaries. Shortly before the onset of the financial crisis he quit his job and wrote a book about his experiences. The headquarters of the investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort is based in Germany’s commercial
capital Frankfurt. It is currently undergoing a merger with the Commerzbank. Christian Pricelius visits the bank and asks how it intends to tackle the controversial issue of managers’ bonuses in the future.
Our studio guest is Ulf Posé, head of the German Industry’s Ethics Federation
Cross Border Leasing – German Towns Caught Up in the Financial Crisis
At the start of the new millennium many municipal authorities in Germany that were short of cash tapped into a new source of income. They sold their sewage works and subways to US investors on a temporary basis, and then leased them back. Their US business partners secured tax breaks on the base of these sham investments and passed on some of the money to the German authorities.
But now this could cost the municipal authorities dearly. Most of the deals were arranged and insured by the crisis-hit insurance sector giant American International Group. Now fine print in the contracts could force the municipal authorities to take over the role of insurer. Marion Hütter goes to Nuremberg where the city authorities are trying to get out of their cross border leasing contract involving the local sewage system.
Profile: Audi CEO Rupert Stadler
Rupert Stadler has one of the most prestigious jobs in the German car industry. The 45-year-old has been chairman of the board at Audi since the beginning of 2007. The business studies graduate and former Finance Manager had some trouble at the beginning. Many regarded him as a man of figures rather than a true car enthusiast.
He first joined Audi in 1990 at the age of 27 as a financial controller in marketing and sales. His big break came when Ferdinand Piëch – at the time still chairman of the board at VW – appointed him as his chief aide in 1997. Stadler loves debates and doesn't mind courting controversy. In the middle of the climate change debate, Audi unveiled its first sports car. He also appears undaunted by the global financial crisis. He has guaranteed his staff work until 2011. By 2015 he has set himself the goal of making Audi the most popular premium car brand.
