The Bundesbank’s Research Centre has published a new research programme, offering a thematic overview of ongoing and planned research activities in the areas of monetary policy, financial stability and banking supervision.

The President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, visited the Czech National Bank yesterday. The main topics of his informal meeting with CNB Governor Jiří Rusnok and other members of the Board were the view of the Czech economy from outside and the situation of the German economy. The future of the euro area and the banking union were also discussed.

Households’ real investment return recovered somewhat at the beginning of 2019, improving to a now only marginally negative rate of -0.1%. Viewed in isolation, historically low interest rates continued to depress income, but price gains in securities markets helped increase performance somewhat overall.

On 1 December, Germany handed presidency of the G20 over to Argentina. The priorities of Argentina’s presidency in the Finance track will be "The future of work" and "Infrastructure for development".

At the end of 2019, Germany’s net external assets stood at €2,472 billion, thus amounting to almost 72% of nominal gross domestic product (GDP). The German net external asset position rose by €345 billion year-on-year.

Despite the setback in the third quarter of 2018, the German economy should continue to see solid growth for the time being, in the Bundesbank’s estimation. The Bank’s recently published autumn forecast primarily attributes the slight decline in economic output in the previous quarter to temporary difficulties in the automotive industry and believes it will be overcome rapidly.

Diana Rutzka-Hascher, previously President of the Bundesbank’s Regional Office in Hesse, is now head of the Bank's Directorate General Human Resources at Central Office, while HR chief Thomas Ollinger has taken her position as the new President of the Regional Office. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann congratulated the two officials at a function in Frankfurt am Main attended by around 170 invited guests.

This year saw the Carl Menger Prize for Economics awarded to economist Silvana Tenreyro. Achim Wambach presented her with the award, which comes with prize money of €20,000, at the annual meeting of the German Economic Association in Freiburg.