Uniper: bailout of at least 9 billion, and super bills on German citizens
Bloomberg reported on Monday that the giant utility is in advanced talks with the German government for a € 9 billion bailout package, all within days of its shares plummeting due to news of its lack of strength and difficulties in trading. obtain natural gas at acceptable prices. The more Uniper pays for gas, the greater the losses, the more the shares fall.
The government is considering applying a number of measures, including lending, taking a shareholding and passing part of the cost increase to customers, according to well-informed sources.
As part of the plan, Reuters previously reported that the German government is preparing legislation that will allow it to take stakes in utility companies and impose emergency levies on consumers, while ministers scramble to manage the impact of the surge in energy prices on power companies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new law will also allow customers to shoulder more of the burden of rising gas prices. The Cabinet is expected to pass the law this week. This is a law that will prove very salty for consumers, who will see the very high costs of gas unloaded on them.
Uniper shares plunged another 28% on Monday, bringing the company's market value to € 4.14 billion, just below its all-time low. At the beginning of the year the title was worth about 4 times as much.
Germany, which has built its economic model on a low-cost common currency (which has crushed the European periphery) to avoid the strong Deutsche Mark, and on even cheaper Russian gas, is struggling with reduced supplies and a 'soaring fuel prices as Moscow punishes Europe for its support of Ukraine. Yesterday the German trade balance was negative for the first time since 1991.
German companies have urged the government to impose a consumer tax to help offset the rising cost of gas. Analysts estimate that the blocking of Russian flows costs Uniper 30 million euros per day.
Meanwhile, Habeck said the squeeze on Russian flows could worsen and warned of the risk of a domino effect from failing companies. The economy in general is also in danger as the government is trying to contain the consequences for consumers and industry. Rationing plans have been drawn up, with the vast German industry poised to suffer from shortages.
"We are not dealing with erratic decisions but with an economic war, completely rational and very clear," Habeck said Saturday. “After a 60% reduction, the next one follows logically”.
Well, maybe if it's all "rational and very clear," then Germany shouldn't have sided with Ukraine in the all-too-real war that is taking place a few hundred kilometers east of Germany, and then do so with half-financial measures. which did nothing but irritate Moscow even more.
Politically, putting all the cost on consumers could be a politically suicidal move for the German government, which could well understand the madness of the energy alliances wanted by the last Merkel government and the SPD.
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The Uniper article: bailout of at least 9 billion, and super bills on German citizens comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/uniper-salvataggio-da-almeno-9-miliardi-e-super-bollette-sui-cittadini-tedeschi/ on Tue, 05 Jul 2022 06:00:09 +0000.