Exactly half a year ago, on 27 January 2020, the first case of corona was detected in the Federal Republic of Germany. An employee of an automotive supplier had infected herself on a business trip to China (PRC) and brought the virus to her company in Upper Bavaria. Lockdowns, curfews, closures, event cancellations and home-office-work were followed by more and more cautious openings and loosenings, which are now being put to the test again.
As the aforementioned lockdown affected the German economy in particular, we asked Josip Heit, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG, about his view of a possible second coronavirus lockdown.
Mr. Heit, how do you see a second coronavirus lockdown from the perspective of the economy?
– Josip Heit: “Well, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) is currently preparing for a possible wave of insolvencies in autumn. The BA is currently preparing itself for the worst case scenario, and employees in the employment agencies are already receiving massive training to process applications for insolvency money. The same is true for the companies; GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG is also preparing for a possible second coronavirus lockdown.”
Mr. Heit, do you think a coronavirus lockdown is harmful to the economy?
– Josip Heit: “Nothing has paralyzed our economy since the Second World War like the corona lockdown. 6.8 million people are on short-time work – financed by the German taxpayer, 40,000 new unemployed people were registered in June 2020 alone. How dramatic the effects are cannot yet be quantified, thousands of companies continue to fear for their existence. Top politicians are already talking about a second wave of the epidemic. What is particularly negative is that the Federal Republic of Germany is in free fall in terms of tax revenues. All government spending would now have to be put to the test, and anyone who does not keep this in mind is committing a crime against the youth of Germany!”
Mr Heit, what do you think of Germany’s current financial problems?
– Josip Heit: “Temporary tax revenue shortfalls are an expression of the active support of the economy, by this I mean the billion-euro economic stimulus package of the Federal Government, which is intended to save German companies. However, I am of the opinion that the economic stimulus package does not start where the companies have the biggest problems, above all I fear stagflation, i.e. a standstill in economic growth with a simultaneous rise in consumer prices. It is difficult to understand why the Federal Republic of Germany is putting billions into an EU reconstruction programme, thereby financing southern European states whose politicians have promised their voters election pledges, such as a basic salary, even in view of the pan-European solidarity community!”
Mr Heit, how do you see the current danger of a second wave of coronavirus, due to holiday returnees?
– Josip Heit: “Here I see it like our very much appreciated Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, due to the beginning of the return journey wave, the corona numbers are rising again alarmingly. Anyone coming from high-risk areas should therefore be subject to a test obligation. And if it is not legally possible, then the appropriate law must be created. According to Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn, the increasing number of new infections in Germany is mainly due to people returning from certain regions. It is to be welcomed that several airports in Germany are having the coronavirus tested free of charge. The airports in Munich, Nuremberg, Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn and Dortmund have been offering free testing since last Saturday, 25 July 2020, for the first time.
It is of course regrettable that more than thousands of Britons have to go into a two-week quarantine after their summer holiday in Spain, but according to my information and that of the Ministry of Health in Madrid, Spain, more than 900 new infections have been registered within 24 hours. This is a safe haven from populism and a free test, certainly can’t hurt!”
Mr. Heit, GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG is active worldwide, what exactly does your company do?
– Josip Heit: “From Hamburg, GSB operates as one of the world market leaders when it comes to mining industry, refinery and worldwide trade of own and external resources. For years, GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG has been striving to conquer various economic areas. Among other things, we want to make gold in small denominations the key to success for every citizen, using block chain technology. This block chain technology, or block chain to explain it to you, is a continuously expandable list of data records, called blocks, which are linked together by means of cryptographic procedures. Blockchains are also secure, always up-to-date directories in which digital transactions can be documented reliably and in a way that is comprehensible for participants, including investors and investors.
It is a matter of particular concern to me personally that fundamental changes are taking place in a currently still unregulated financial market, towards a strictly regulated financial market where block chain technology makes it almost impossible to commit fraud and where transparency, as a necessary form of honesty, combined with visible trust, is paramount!”