The January 2011 monthly report contains: The banknote cycle and banknote recycling in Germany; Foreign demand for euro banknotes issued in Germany; Investor behaviour in theory and
practice; Requirements regarding the cyclical adjustment procedure under the new debt rule.

In a study prepared together with Professor Friedrich Schneider of the Johannes Kepler University Linz, illegal demand for cash in Germany is investigated. The study presents an overview of economic research on the use of cash in the shadow economy as well as fresh empirical analyses by the authors. They look at the influence of the shadow economy on cash lodgements at Bundesbank branches and the demand for banknotes in Germany.