ECONOMY REPORTS - ABB reports record in orders in the third quarter

ABB reports record orders in the third quarter The latest news. Industrial group ABB reports a record value in order intake The technology company ABB reports a record value in order intake in the third quarter of 2026 amounting to 12 billion dollars. This is a 40 percent increase compared to the previous year. The data center segment recorded a triple-digit increase, according to ABB in a press release on Tuesday (October 20). Things are progressing as planned, the company says. With revenue growth of 14 percent, operating EBITA increased by 24 percent to 2 billion dollars. The group slightly raised the outlook for total revenue growth for the full year. Roche puts investments in Germany under review (dpa) The Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche is reviewing all investments in Germany in response to the German federal government's austerity measures in healthcare. "We have put all future investment decisions in Germany on hold for now," said Roche-Germany head Daniel Steiners to the "Welt" (October 19). "I can say that the policy has recently destroyed a lot of trust in the pharmaceutical sector." Steiners demanded reliable frameworks. With regard to the Law on Stabilization of Health Insurance Contributions (GKV), he said: "Instead of addressing the structural problems of the GKV, the policy is focusing on short-term savings and additional burdens for the industry." This means losing twice: "The real problem is not being solved, because without real structural reforms, such savings will evaporate in practice, and one will quickly face the same deficit again." The planned location clause to relieve research and manufacturing pharmaceutical companies from manufacturer discounts may only partially repair the negative consequences of the law, said Steiners. A comprehensive strategy is necessary. The news is a setback for Berlin. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is campaigning for companies for the location Germany at the investor summit this Monday. High investments in AI planned – Friedrich Merz wants to cooperate with chip manufacturer Nvidia (dpa) The German government plans a cooperation with the American chip manufacturer Nvidia. An appropriate report from the "Handelsblatt" was confirmed in government circles on Friday (October 16). It concerns the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in industry. According to the "Handelsblatt," German companies like Siemens also want to participate in a project. On Monday and Tuesday, an investment summit with numerous investors from Germany and abroad will take place in Berlin. The government's goal is to have more private investments in Germany. As an opening on Monday evening with Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is also expected. Then cooperation between the government and Nvidia could be announced. According to the "Handelsblatt," the project concerns the use of "physical AI." Under "physical AI," Nvidia understands artificial intelligence that interacts with the real world – such as robots, self-driving cars, and technology in automated industrial facilities. A typical example of the group is humanoid robots that can perceive their environment with sensors like cameras, analyze it with AI, and perform assigned tasks based on this. Furthermore, according to the "Handelsblatt," powerful AI models for the factories of the future are to be developed. The Merz government is ready to invest a three-digit million amount. Nvidia is the central engine of the AI boom with its data center products. The company provides the key technologies for training large AI language models and operating them with chips and chip systems. High energy prices are driving inflation in the Eurozone higher (dpa) Inflation in the Eurozone has risen to the highest level in three years due to high energy prices. In comparison to the previous year, consumer prices rose by 3.8 percent in September, as announced by the Eurostat agency in Luxembourg on Friday (October 16). This is the highest inflation rate in the countries with the Euro since September 2023. In August, the inflation rate was 3.2 percent and in July 2.9 percent. Therefore, inflation is rising even more strongly above the European Central Bank's (ECB) target of two percent in the medium term, where the ECB considers price stability to be ensured. The central bank recently raised key interest rates in September due to the increased inflation. The deposit rate, which is important for banks and savers, increased by 0.25 percentage points to 2.50 percent. Energy was a strong price driver. In September, the increase in energy prices accelerated again. Eurostat reports a plus of 18.9 percent in comparison to the previous year. The background is the consequences of the war between Iran and the USA with a hindrance of oil transport from the producing areas in the Persian Gulf. A sustainable opening of the Strait of Hormuz is still not in sight. The core rate of inflation, excluding particularly volatile components such as energy and food, rose only from 2.4 to 2.5 percent in the previous month. In Germany, the inflation rate according to the European Consumer Price Index HVPI also increased significantly in September, to 3.3 percent. Prices rose particularly strongly in Spain, where the rate increased to 5.0 percent. In Italy, it climbed to 4.2 percent, and in France to 3.4 percent. The streaming service Netflix apparently cuts six percent of its jobs (Reuters) Netflix is cutting about six percent of its jobs, apparently around a thousand employees are affected by the largest job cut in the streaming service's history. This comes from an internal announcement on Wednesday (October 14), which is available to the news agency Reuters and other media. According to the announcement, the product, technology, legal, and human resources departments are particularly affected. Netflix justifies the cut according to the reports by saying that it wants to focus on the most important business areas. The business is still strong and growing, explained co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos in the announcement. The group is sticking to its annual forecast. However, Netflix is increasingly under competitive pressure. Platforms like YouTube and TikTok attract viewers with free content. In addition, investors doubt whether the streaming service can maintain its previous growth. Netflix is therefore trying to create new sources of revenue through advertising, live broadcasts, and video games. At the beginning of the year, an attempt to acquire parts of Warner Bros. Discovery failed. In 2022 alone, Netflix cut around 450 jobs following a decline in subscriber numbers. Lufthansa acquires around 45 percent of Portuguese airline (dpa) Lufthansa acquires 44.9 percent of the Portuguese airline Tap. The government in Lisbon chose the German group as the preferred buyer. The Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced this on Wednesday (October 14). Lufthansa offered 1.2 billion euros and thus prevailed over Air France-KLM. The Portuguese state retains the majority stake in Tap until five percent of the shares are allocated to the employees. Due to outstanding approvals, the completion of the deal is expected only in 2028. Lufthansa wants to expand the business of Tap in Brazil and strengthen Lisbon Airport as a hub. The Portuguese airline has more than one hundred aircraft and employs around 9400 employees. It plays a significant role in air travel between Europe and South America. Tap is under economic pressure: in the first half of 2026, the airline recorded a net loss of 99.2 million euros after four years. Operating revenues nevertheless increased by 4.3 percent to around 2 billion euros. Swiss beauty company Galderma buys US company ZO Skin Health jsc. The Swiss dermatology group Galderma acquires the US company ZO Skin Health for 1.5 billion dollars, as Galderma announced on Wednesday (October 14). With this, the group based in Zug is massively expanding its market position in the USA. Galderma is one of the leading dermatology companies in the world and is known for anti-aging products. The company employs around 7600 employees worldwide. ZO Skin Health has around 700 employees. Dating app Bumble sold for 1.3 billion dollars (dpa) The dating app Bumble was sold for 1.3 billion dollars. The buyer of the app is the investment firm Ithaca Holdings, as Bumble announced on Wednesday (October 14). It will take the company by takeover from the stock exchange. The price of approximately 1.16 billion euros is also a fraction of the former market value – and a significant premium on current prices. Bumble and competitors like Tinder are struggling, as interest in online dating has declined, especially among younger users. At the IPO in early 2021, Bumble still had a market value of around fourteen billion dollars. Last week, the company was worth around 340 million dollars. FBI investigates Open-AI employees after discovery of listening device (dpa) An employee of the ChatGPT developer OpenAI is suspected of having placed a listening device in a conference room at the company where business secrets are often discussed. The 35-year-old Saudi citizen was arrested, as the AI company and the US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday (October 14). The FBI is investigating the case. The recording device discovered two weeks earlier was reportedly placed in the conference room in San Francisco about two days earlier. It was inserted into the USB port of a television, wrapped in toilet paper. The arrested employee was filmed by security cameras near the conference room by the Department of Justice at the end of September, to which he actually had no access. The investigators also published a picture showing how he later tried to look behind the television. According to the Department of Justice, inquiries were made regarding recording devices on the chatbot account of the Open AI employee's wife. The employee was threatened with up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 euros if convicted. The US intelligence coordinator Jay Clayton said the case shows how important it is for the national security of the USA to win the race in the development of artificial intelligence.