Olaf Storbeck
@olafstorbeck.ft.com
Financial Times Frankfurt Bureau Chief. All Things ECB and European Macro. Previously: Reuters Breakingviews & Handelsblatt. Long distance cyclist. Car free since 2009. Views mine, not the FT's. (The FT's ones here: https://www.ft.com/ft-view)
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde’s full pay is more than 50 per cent higher than her disclosed salary, according to a Financial Times analysis. www.ft.com/content/c7cd...
Christine Lagarde’s pay is 50% higher than disclosed by ECB
Europe’s top central banker earns almost four times more than Fed chair Jay Powell, FT analysis shows
www.ft.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:33 AM
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde’s full pay is more than 50 per cent higher than her disclosed salary, according to a Financial Times analysis. www.ft.com/content/c7cd...
Over the past few weeks, Sebastien Ash, Florian Müller and I took a deep dive into the demise of German manufacturing. The situation appears so bleak that it really blows my mind.
www.ft.com/content/239e...
www.ft.com/content/239e...
Can anything halt the decline of German industry?
Europe’s manufacturing champion is in free fall. Economists are suggesting radical steps to save what is left
www.ft.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Over the past few weeks, Sebastien Ash, Florian Müller and I took a deep dive into the demise of German manufacturing. The situation appears so bleak that it really blows my mind.
www.ft.com/content/239e...
www.ft.com/content/239e...
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been accused by economists of channelling billions of euros of new debt intended for defence and infrastructure investments to fund a higher welfare budget and other ongoing expenditures.
on.ft.com/4qUndnM
on.ft.com/4qUndnM
Merz accused of using debt bazooka for welfare and tax cuts instead of investment
Two prominent institutes and the Bundesbank sound alarm over use of new borrowings
on.ft.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:14 AM
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been accused by economists of channelling billions of euros of new debt intended for defence and infrastructure investments to fund a higher welfare budget and other ongoing expenditures.
on.ft.com/4qUndnM
on.ft.com/4qUndnM
The ECB will soon fire the starting gun on a sweeping reshuffle of its top ranks — a contest that will ultimately decide who succeeds its president Christine Lagarde. Klaas Knot, Joachim Nagel and Pablo Hernández de Cos are among the contenders. on.ft.com/3JoMCFC
ECB to kick off race for top roles as Lagarde era enters final stretch
Four of six jobs on central bank’s executive board become vacant before end of 2027, including the presidency
on.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:38 AM
The ECB will soon fire the starting gun on a sweeping reshuffle of its top ranks — a contest that will ultimately decide who succeeds its president Christine Lagarde. Klaas Knot, Joachim Nagel and Pablo Hernández de Cos are among the contenders. on.ft.com/3JoMCFC
Rarely seen such a powerful @financialtimes.com reader‘s comment. I went off the sauce more than 1.5 years ago and my only regret is not having done it much earlier. My general wellbeing — including my mental health — improved beyond description.
on.ft.com/3L7IoCy
on.ft.com/3L7IoCy
October 25, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Rarely seen such a powerful @financialtimes.com reader‘s comment. I went off the sauce more than 1.5 years ago and my only regret is not having done it much earlier. My general wellbeing — including my mental health — improved beyond description.
on.ft.com/3L7IoCy
on.ft.com/3L7IoCy
Can Porsche be saved? Once one of the most reliable sources of profits for Volkswagen, it has plunged into its deepest crisis in three decades. Sebastien Ash & Kana Inagaki take stock - they even talked the the new CEO (when he still was at McLaren.) www.ft.com/content/a0c3...
Porsche hits reverse on EV push as new CEO shifts back to petrol
Luxury-car maker U-turns on strategy after China weakness, US tariffs and disappointing uptake of battery vehicles
www.ft.com
October 24, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Can Porsche be saved? Once one of the most reliable sources of profits for Volkswagen, it has plunged into its deepest crisis in three decades. Sebastien Ash & Kana Inagaki take stock - they even talked the the new CEO (when he still was at McLaren.) www.ft.com/content/a0c3...
I did not design the coin 🤷♂️
October 24, 2025 at 7:56 AM
I did not design the coin 🤷♂️
Man darf, aber man kann nicht (zumindest vorerst)
October 23, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Man darf, aber man kann nicht (zumindest vorerst)
Crazy days... who would have thought that there would be a day when I mention Tuffi, the circus elephant who famously jumped out of Wuppertal's suspension monorail in 1950 when a PR stunt went wrong, and roman emperor Nero in the very same FT article?
www.ft.com/content/0400...
www.ft.com/content/0400...
Germany shelves commemorative coins over surging silver price
Value of precious metal exceeds face value of €20 and €25 collectibles
www.ft.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Crazy days... who would have thought that there would be a day when I mention Tuffi, the circus elephant who famously jumped out of Wuppertal's suspension monorail in 1950 when a PR stunt went wrong, and roman emperor Nero in the very same FT article?
www.ft.com/content/0400...
www.ft.com/content/0400...
Reposted by Olaf Storbeck
German banks push private equity funds to retail investors on.ft.com/4qgUYjb
German banks push private equity funds to retail investors
Lenders from Deutsche Bank to Trade Republic are trying to woo customers to the asset class
on.ft.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:07 AM
German banks push private equity funds to retail investors on.ft.com/4qgUYjb
This post on the ECB's blong about the science behind this year's Economic Nobel laureates, is rather good: www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/d...
October 20, 2025 at 2:57 PM
This post on the ECB's blong about the science behind this year's Economic Nobel laureates, is rather good: www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/d...
Rapha is in crisis mode with plunging sales and big losses - how Fran Millar, the fourth CEO in three years, wants to fix the cycling fashion brand. www.ft.com/content/8b55...
October 20, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Rapha is in crisis mode with plunging sales and big losses - how Fran Millar, the fourth CEO in three years, wants to fix the cycling fashion brand. www.ft.com/content/8b55...
Industrieproduktion ist im August auf Niveau von 2005 eingebrochen - und 20% unter dem Peak von 2017. Die Autoproduktion liegt derzeit auf dem Niveau von 2000 und ist 60 Prozent unter dem Allzeit-Hoch. www.ft.com/content/745f...
October 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Industrieproduktion ist im August auf Niveau von 2005 eingebrochen - und 20% unter dem Peak von 2017. Die Autoproduktion liegt derzeit auf dem Niveau von 2000 und ist 60 Prozent unter dem Allzeit-Hoch. www.ft.com/content/745f...
also note we are not talking about Germany's competitiveness but about firms' competitiveness
September 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
also note we are not talking about Germany's competitiveness but about firms' competitiveness
Raub = Gewalt im Spiel
September 22, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Raub = Gewalt im Spiel
Vielleicht erklärt dem SPIEGEL jmd bei Gelegenheit den Unterschied zwischen RAUB und DIEBSTAHL?
September 22, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Vielleicht erklärt dem SPIEGEL jmd bei Gelegenheit den Unterschied zwischen RAUB und DIEBSTAHL?
the more relevant chart in the competitiveness context / labour costs is this one
September 22, 2025 at 10:11 AM
the more relevant chart in the competitiveness context / labour costs is this one
Reposted by Olaf Storbeck
on.ft.com/4gwD4US In charts: Can Germany afford its €1.35tn welfare state? @chassnews.bsky.social @olafstorbeck.ft.com
In charts: Can Germany afford its €1.35tn welfare state?
[FREE TO READ] Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants benefit cuts, but his coalition partners are pushing back
on.ft.com
September 21, 2025 at 1:04 PM
on.ft.com/4gwD4US In charts: Can Germany afford its €1.35tn welfare state? @chassnews.bsky.social @olafstorbeck.ft.com
doyou think share of GDP was hih in 2008 under current definitions?
September 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM
doyou think share of GDP was hih in 2008 under current definitions?
Also trend since 2009 is very clear: welfare spending is on a rising trajectory and expenses are rising faster than nominal GDP
September 21, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Also trend since 2009 is very clear: welfare spending is on a rising trajectory and expenses are rising faster than nominal GDP
Chart is straight out of official government reporting www.bmas.de/SharedDocs/D...
September 21, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Chart is straight out of official government reporting www.bmas.de/SharedDocs/D...
Did you read the piece
September 21, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Did you read the piece