Schüler und Lehrer kön-nen eine englische Über-setzung des Handelsblatt Newcomers auf unserer Internetseite kostenlos als PDF herunterladen. Mehr Infos unter: www.handelsblattmacht-schule.de/newcomer

Handelsblatt Newcomer auf Englisch

Online RetAil Germans are in-creasingly using the internet to shop. Retailers must adapt accor-dingly. PAGES 2/3

PullinG StRinGS How the tobacco industry infl uences political decisions with lobby work. PAGE 5

AdVeRtiSinGHow far is too far?PAGE 6

IN THEIR OWN WORDS...››Online retail is ex-periencing gold rush fever at the moment.‹‹

Hans-Otto Schrader, CEO of the Otto Group (see pages 2/3)

fever at the moment.‹‹

Hans-Otto Schrader, CEO of the Otto Group (see pages 2/3)

Many observers viewed the US government’s budget debates in Washington similarly to the statue.

Hans Christian MüllerHandelsblatt Düsseldorf

A common saying among fi nancial experts is: When America sneezes, Europe

catches a cold. The US boasts the world‘s strongest economy and German companies sell more than 300,000 large shipping containers worth of goods to the country each year. Because it buys more than any-one else, the world keeps a close eye on the US economy. Developments there this past October had plenty of countries worried: Politicians in Washington D.C. fought for weeks about whether President Obama‘s government should be allowed to borrow ad-

ditional money to fund the coun-try‘s budget. Obama‘s political opponents voted against it in an at-tempt to force the President to end his controversial health insurance program. The President did not give in to their wishes, but it was not an easy decision: Because his opponents temporarily blocked the government from receiving additional funding, 800,000 gov-

ernment employees were forced into un-paid leave and many federal offi ces were unable to continue their work. It took

16 days before the parties reached an agreement – barely avoiding a potential disaster. Like many countries, the US borrows money to pay back old debts. However, it

needs permission from Congress to raise the amount of debt it can take on. Without this permission to borrow money, the country would have been unable to pay back old debts, resulting in a de-fault. Had this happened, it could have resulted in a new global eco-nomic crisis since many countries and banks around the world are owed money from the US. Paying old debts with new ones is clearly not a sustainable long-term strat-egy. But the political fi ght only made things worse. The US econo-my suff ered losses of roughly 70 billion euros as a result. The world will once more turn its gaze on Washington D.C. in February. That is when the US will once again need permission from Congress to take on new debts.

For days, politicians in America fought over whether the country should be allowed to take on more debt. Awaiting the decision, the global economy held its breath.

800,000 federal employees were

sent home on unpaid leave.

US in the Debt Trap

November 2013AUSGABE 26NEWCOMER

H

www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer Photos: Mary F. Calvert/ZUMA Press/Corbis; www.ottogroup.com

November 2013ISSUE 26NEWCOMER

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Newcomer_Nr.26_GB.indd 1 12.11.13 12:35

Gerald Schön­bucher

Founder of the Co-logne-based online retailer Hitmeister.de.

In addition to fashion items and shoes, you sell just about everything. Why did you decide against specializing in one area? If I manage to gain a customer in one area, I also have the opportunity of gaining them as a customer in other areas if I provide a broad range of offers. This means that I can gain much more out of a single customer relationship than if I specialized in one area. And sometimes you can find a promising niche with a wide product range.

Can you provide an example? In addition to many other things, we sell products for pets: food, collars, water dishes, toys, etc. At some point, farmers started asking if we had any offers for farm animals. This resulted in us adding calf feeders and cow cleaners to our range of goods. I never imagined that those types of products would be bought over the internet, but apparently they are.

Department stores like Karstadt and Kaufhof are struggling at the moment. Why are internet-based stores enjoying more success? To start with, online shops can offer a nearly unlimited range of products. Op-erators also have access to much more data, such as what customers regularly search for.

And how is this information used? The data shows us what customers are in-terested in and that helps us create entic-ing offers.

What are the main challenges for online retailers? The goods have to be immediately avail-able, but also can’t sit in storage for too long. Online retailers also have to be con-stantly accessible to customers – informing them about products, answering questions on delivery and reacting to complaints.

The interview was conducted by Kirsten Ludowig, Handelsblatt Düsseldorf. The complete interview can be read at: w w w.handelsblattmachtschule.de/ newcomer

Q&A WITH:

Consumers can buy just about anything on the internet. The shift towards online shopping is having a major impact on the retail industry.Kirsten LudowigHandelsblatt Düsseldorf

When Nina Schulz buys some-thing, she usually does it from her couch with her laptop. The

33-year-old purchases nearly everything she needs over the internet. For her, visits to “real” stores are becoming increasingly rare. A few years ago, such a story would have seemed very exotic: The typical on-line shopper in 2005 was usually male, young and affluent – affluent enough that is to be able to afford a DSL connection. Back then, there were only ten million such connections in Germany. Today, that number has more than doubled.

Eight years ago, Germans made only two percent of their pur-chases over the internet. That number has since gone way up. The internet is open for business 24/7 and is develop-ing into the largest shopping centre in the world. Nearly every second German over the age of 14 has bought something on-

line. The most common items are fashion articles and shoes, CDs, DVDs, books and computers (see chart, page 3). Nina Schulz even buys food on the internet – at least items that don‘t spoil quickly, such as spe-cial steak sauces from the US.

The online shopping boom is a trend clearly reflected in the statistics: For 2013, the German Retail Association (HDE) ex-pects e-commerce sales to amount to ap-proximately 33 billion euros, which would be 7.6 per cent of overall retail sales. E-commerce is the abbreviation for elec-tronic commerce, which is another way of saying online retail. The HDE believes that these figures will continue to grow in the coming years. By 2025, up to a fifth of all purchases in Germany could be per-formed online.

Online shops, like market leader Ama-zon from the US or Zalando in Germany, are growing at a rapid pace. This devel-opment is seen as an enormous threat by

many „brick and mortar“ retailers, meaning those with physical stores. The reason is clear: More inter-

net shopping means fewer people visiting their stores. In some cases, this could lead to layoffs and shop closures for affected retailers. An increasing number of shops

Online retailers generated 33 billion

euros in sales.

Photos: www.hitmeister.de; TongRo/TongRo Images/Corbis www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer

HANDELSBLATT FocuS November 2013, ISSUE 26H2

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A complex process begins when we order books from an online shop or when a store re-

quests goods from a supplier. Every day, orders from around the world are received at various warehouses around Germany. Once received, the right prod-ucts must be shipped to the right customers as quickly as possible. Specialists in warehouse logistics

(see cheat sheet, page 8) are re-sponsible for ensuring a seamless operation. These employees are true multi-talents: They have to compile, securely package and send shipments with the correct documentation. Good logistics specialists are therefore able to carefully arrange their work, keep calm under stress and are physi-cally fi t. Solid maths, language and IT skills are also very helpful. Since many people order goods

from foreign countries or ship goods to foreign countries via the internet, foreign languages and computer skills are essential in this fi eld. Those considering a ca-reer as a logistics specialist have to complete a three-year appren-ticeship with a logistics, mail-order or industrial manufactur-ing company. Just as with many other occupations, the logistics industry off ers numerous career advancement opportunities. An-

other avenue into the industry is by studying logistics at a uni-versity. Even without a German Abitur, you can study logistics if you have successfully completed the three-year apprenticeship. More information is available at:www.logistik-berufe.de

Vitalij PrjadkinInstitute of Economic Education at oldenburg

Ordered today, delivered tomorrow

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE: LOGISTICS SPECIALIST

You said it:“Instead of complain-ing, companies should look to take advantage of online opportuni-ties.” luca, Year 12

That’s the pupil’s view

Here are the most popular items that Germans buy online:

Source: Bundesverband des Deutschen Versandhandels e. V.

Online retail sales in millions of euros for 2012

5.960

3.540

2.280

2.190

1.980

1.270

1.230

Clothing

Consumer electronics

Computers and accessories

Books

Hobby, collector's and leisure articles

Shoes

Furniture and home accessories

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

are already disappearing across Germa-

ny. Industry ex-perts have long been warning about a possible

desertifi cation of city centres. Particularly irritating for brick and

mortar retailers are customers who come in, ask questions, try out products or try on clothes only to buy them online from a competitor. Retailers call this showroom-ing. Thanks to smartphones and special apps, consumers can easily scan a prod-uct‘s barcode and fi nd a wide range of similar off ers or better prices in just a few seconds.

usually, retailers that sell exclusively online have fewer expenses and can

therefore off er lower prices. After all, they don‘t pay rent on various shops and usu-ally employ fewer workers. Most brick and mortar retailers are taking measures to counteract their online competitors. One popular method is the so-called multi-channel concept: Here, shops try to con-nect with consumers through as many sales channels (see cheat sheet, page 8) as possible. This includes their physical shops as well as online shops and apps for smartphones or tablets. This method is meant to retain customers, but many retailers are struggling. Prices, supply, IT and logistics (see cheat sheet, page 8) all need to be coordinated across the various channels. At the same time, retail chains

that put too much emphasis on their tradi-tional brick and mortar shops can quickly fall behind. Europe‘s largest electronics retailer Media-Saturn was very late in re-cognising this problem and lost a great deal of sales to competitors as they slowly added online shops.

But online retailers face challenges as well. Many run up large debts in the initial years of business, in an attempt to rise above the competition and gain mar-

ket share with low prices. Some retailers fi nd this tactic unfair. Furthermore, some major online retailers, such as Amazon and Zalando, have been in the news due to complaints about poor working condi-tions.

Online shops also have to worry about late payments and returns. Anyone making an online purchase can return the goods without explanation and get their money back, if they do so within 14 days. But these returns result in costs. Retailers have to check the returned goods, repackage them and store them once more. Occasionally, on-line shops will stop delivering goods to cus-tomers who have a reputation for returning their purchases. Returns are most common with clothing items, since customers cannot try on items bought online.

„Schrei vor Glück oder schick‘s zurück“ („Happiness guaranteed, or you can send it back“) was Zalando‘s original slogan. Now they just use the „happi-ness“ part.

www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer Caricature: Martha Heeke, Lea Schönborn

November 2013, ISSUE 26H HANDELSBLATT FocuS 3

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How the IOC makes money with the Olympics

Handelsblatt Source: Olympic.org

Broadcasting rights

Sponsors/advertisers

Ticket sales

Licenses

45%

47%

5% 3%

Maren KienaßInstitute of Economic Education at oldenburg

Most people think of exciting compe-titions and exuberant medal win-ners when thinking of the Olympic

Games. But the world‘s most popular sport-ing event is also really big business (see chart). The Games are organised and man-aged by the IOC, the International Olympic Committee. This past September, a German was elected President of the IOC: Thomas Bach.

The lawyer from Tauberbischofsheim (Baden-Württemberg) strategically worked his way up to the top of the IOC. In the 1970s, he was a professional fencer and won a gold medal together with his team at the 1976 Olympic Games. He was also involved in sports policy from an early stage in his career. He was spokesman for the German Fencing Association and later became a member of the National Olympic Commit-tee. In 2006, he became President of the German Olympic Sporting Association. By

then, he had already been a member of the IOC for 15 years. There, he worked his way up to the position of Vice President before being elected as successor to Jacques Rogge in September.

Though the 59-year-old received a clear majority of the vote, his election was not without controversy. Over the years, Bach had built up many powerful relationships within the organisation. That‘s why some of his critics believe that this election was mainly the result of his infl uential connec-tions. And when it comes to being the lead-ing man in an organisation that stands for the Olympic values of fairness and equality, the suspicion of cronyism is less than ideal.

Bach‘s term as President will last eight years. During this period, he will face some major challenges. These include the fi ght against doping and the infl uence of gam-bling as well as deciding which sports will be considered Olympic disciplines in the future. Squash and baseball are among the most frequent candidates. Many would also like to see greater transparency within the IOC. Clear guidelines, for example, that di-rect the process of selecting sites to host the Games, rather than awarding them to the highest bidder as is often suspected to be the case.

Vera KirchnerInstitut für Ökonomische Bildung oldenburg

Sina Trinkwalder was al-ready a successful entre-

preneur. She was managing her own advertising agency (see cheat sheet, page 8) in Augs-burg and business was very good. But at some point, the 35-year-old wanted to do more than make advertisements for products that she believed no one really needed. In 2010, she started a second career.

While her husband took over management of the advertising agency, she started making en-vironmentally-friendly cloth-ing articles at her textile shop Manomama. She hired people who would usually have dif-fi culty fi nding jobs – for exam-ple people nearing retirement age or who had been sick for a longer period of time.

Sina Trinkwalder belongs to a group of people known as social entrepreneurs. Their focus, in contrast to normal en-

trepreneurs, is to en hance society rather than gen-erate maximum profi ts. Since becoming a moth-er, she has felt a much stronger connection to social issues.

But the com-pany is also suc-cessful. The older s e a m s t r e s s e s , who Trinkwal-der refers to as her „ladies“, bring a

wealth of experi-ence to the work-

place. They are also extremely

m o t i v a t e d to do good

work as a sign of

gratitudefor their jobs.

Profi t isn‘t Always the Bottom line

The New Lord of the RingsThomas Bach is the fi rst German President of the International Olympic Committee. It was a job he had long set his sights on.

Photos: ENRIQUE MARCARIAN/Reuters/Corbis; Sina Trinkwalder www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer

PRoFILE November 2013, ISSUE 26H4

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COMMENT Money Rules the World

Catrin Bialek Handelsblatt Düsseldorf

In buildings, lobbies are typically spacious entrance halls. During Ro-man times, the space outside the parliament was a place of intense

discussion, which often shaped public opinion. But in today‘s world, lobbyists work on behalf of companies, associations or organi-sations and rarely have the good of the overall public in mind. They are diligent contenders for their clients. They argue for genetically modifi ed foods, against weapons, for chemical products – it all de-pends on who it is they‘re working for. And therein lies the problem:

The more money a company or organisation has devoted to lobby work, the more political infl uence they potentially have. Lobby work has a poor image in Germany. Many view it as a subversion of the democratic process. Critics claim that it is pure manipulation and ac-cuse some lobbyists of using tac-tics like bribery and other forms of corruption. A further reason for lobbying‘s bad reputation are

the frequent, sudden changes in opinion by politicians and interest groups. A politician may fi ght for the desires of the general public one day and then accept money from the tobacco industry or some other powerful lobby group the next. This just shows how inter-twined politics and lobby work has become. Creating some distance between them would be a good thing for a healthy democracy.

You said it:“It‘s terrible when mo-ney is more important than a person‘s health.”

lea, Year 12

Lobbyists try to make politicians their puppets.

Many companies and organisa-tions employ lobbyists. Their job is to infl uence legislation on behalf of their employers.

Catrin BialekHandelsblatt Düsseldorf

The powerful cigarette industry suff ered a setback in mid-October. After a long

tug of war, the Parliament of the European Union (EU) passed new tobacco guidelines(see cheat sheet, page 8). According to the guidelines, cigarette manufacturers will soon be required to enlarge the warning labels on packages and add graphic im-ages of sick smokers as well. The tobacco companies had been fi ghting against this development for many years.

The new rules are an eff ort to discour-age people, particularly the young from smoking. More than 100,000 people die from the consequences of tobacco con-sumption in Germany each year. And worldwide more than fi ve million people die from smoking every year according to the German Cancer Research Centre. Anti-smoking associations see a strong relation-ship between tobacco consumption and the public image of tobacco companies.

These companies, of course, have a very diff erent opinion on the matter and spend enormous amounts of money on persuad-ing others. According to the British news-paper The Guardian Phillip Morris, the

manufacturer of brands such as Marlboro and L & M, recently employed 161 lobbyists to infl uence politicians and civil servants within the EU. Through regular personal meetings, lobbyists try to infl uence mem-bers of the executive (administrative) and legislative (law making) branches of gov-ernment. Their goal is to ensure that po-litical decisions are favourable towards their clients. When it comes to the tobacco guidelines, these lobbyists only enjoyed partial success: Their infl uence helped re-move some of the original provisions, such as e-cigarettes being subject to the same approval as medications and a slim ciga-

rette ban, while also delaying a ban on menthol cigarettes for fi ve years.

The business of infl uence is growing. Lobbyists work for pretty much every sec-tor of the business world. Even non-profi t organisations, like Greenpeace, or labour representatives from labour unions en-gage in lobby work. According to estimates, there are roughly 15,000 lobbyists working in Brussels – where many EU decisions are made. Because their work is not subject toany public oversight, many regard lobby work with suspicion.

Infl uencing Politics

www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer Photos: Stock Foundry/Design Pics/Design Pics/Corbis; Frank Beer

November 2013, ISSUE 26H coMPANIES AND MARKETS 5

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An overwhelming amount of pro-ducts are manufactured in the industrialised nations. Let‘s take a pair of trousers for example – we can choose from hundreds of va-rious models and brands. We are quite literally spoiled for choice. But this also means that manufac-turers are struggling to fi nd ways to rise above the crowd.

How important is advertising for companies?A company can only make a profi t and remain in business if it sells

its products. Companies use TV commercials as well as internet and magazine ads to spread their advertisements – hoping that consumers become more aware of their products and will want to have them. But once again, we are surrounded by so much adverti-sing that it is impossible to take it all in. That‘s why some compa-nies have taken to the approach of standing out at all costs. As a result, advertising is becoming increasingly extreme. Many pos-ters and commercials contain se-

xual allusions or break with social norms, like Abercrombie & Fitch‘s magazine.

Who decides what advertisers are allowed to display?Many citizens are disturbed by morally questionable ads. Some countries have organizations where concerned citizens can pass on their complaints. In the US, there is the National Adver-tising Review Board, while in Germany, we have the German Advertising Council. The Adver-

tising Council operates on the principle of self-regulation. It's mandate is to oversee and as-sess registered ad campaigns and to advise whether or not the ad should be shown or modifi ed. In most cases, companies follow their advice.

Beate Faulborn Institute of Economic Education at oldenburg

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Advertising concept: Before compa-nies make an ad, they have to consider what they hope to achieve with it and their approach. This means answering questions like: What is the target age group? Where should the ad be dis-played? The concept needs to fi t both the company and its product.

A boycott is a non-violent way to ex-press displeasure with companies. Usually, boycotters convey their mes-sage to the targeted companies by refusing to buy their products. Aber-crombie & Fitch, for instance, would notice a serious decline in sales if no one shopped there anymore. The goal of a boycott is to prompt the targeted company or organisation to rethink its policies or actions.

Discrimination lawsuit: Groups or in-dividuals are discriminated against when they are disadvantaged due to the colour of their skin, political lean-ings etc. Those aff ected often have the right to take legal action in the form of a lawsuit.

A Handelsblattarticle explained

Shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch.

Standing Out at All Costs Thomas JahnHandelsblatt, 23/8/2012

Abercrombie & Fitch and their relat-ed brand Hollister use sex appeal to market their products. Their

employees are chosen based on their ap-pearance. Applicants wearing XL or XXL-sized clothing need not apply. Their stores resemble discos – mostly dark with bright spotlighted areas. Even when passing by, one gets a sort of night club vibe, thanks to various ads displaying muscular young men with their shirts half open.

The concept has been a great success as Abercrombie & Fitch has become a major star in the fashion industry over the last ten years. The brand posts sales of 4.5 billion dollars each year. […]

The company‘s CEO Mike Jeff ries trans-formed the sleepy retailer into a fashion gi-ant. Along the way, he regularly generated attention with outlandish stunts. For exam-ple, he published photos of nude youths in various poses in the company‘s customer magazine A & F Quarterly.

This caused quite a stir with many peo-ple and organisations, some of which called for a boycott. The company, however, con-tinues to make waves. A few weeks ago, the

French human rights offi ce threatened to fi le a discrimination lawsuit against Ab-ercrombie & Fitch. Their complaint: Only beautiful people are hired as salespeople at the company. Abercrombie & Fitch has been in a similar position before. In 2004, it paid 50 million dollars to settle three US class action lawsuits related to employee discrimination. […]

You said it:“These kinds of reports are typical for Aber-crombie & Fitch.” Jonas, Year 10

Photo: BENOIT TESSIER/Reuters/Corbis www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer

HANDELSBLATT EXPLAINED November 2013, ISSUE 26H6

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UND JETZT SEID IHR DRAN! Unter www.facebook.com/handelsblattmachtschule könnt ihr ei-gene Artikel veröff entlichen, euch austau-schen und über den Handelsblatt Newco-mer diskutieren. Wir freuen uns auf eure Meinung zu den Artikeln. Darüber hinaus sind auch Ideen oder Themenvorschläge von euch immer willkommen.

FACEBOOK

Martha Heeke

Many mobile phone providers off er their customers insurance policies for new devices. But these are often more expensive than they should be. A report from our student editorial board.

Martha Heeke (Year 13) Helene-Lange-Schule oldenburg

I recently bought a new mobile phone to keep up with the times. Having just celebrated my 18th birthday, I naturally

went on my own. The friendly sales lady greeted me as I prepared to checkout. She explained a few things about my new smartphone and fi nally recommended that I take out an insurance policy on the device. She off ered me a purchase con-tract that was directly tied to an insurance policy for my phone. It would cost 160 eu-

ros. I assumed that this was the total price for both the phone and the insurance poli-cy and consented with my signature. Only after paying, the checkout lady explained that the phone itself cost an addition-al 121 euros.

Needless to say, I was not happy. After all, I would never insure a € 121 phone for € 160! I returned to the store the next day to can-cel the contract. My mother came along as backup. Initially they said there was nothing they could do since I had already signed the contract. But once my mother

spoke up they suddenly remembered that there might be a way to do that after all. One week later, the insurance contract was offi cially nullifi ed.

In the meantime, I now know that every customer has the right to cancel insurance contracts within 14 days of pur-

chase – without any justifi cation. That is part of the Insurance Contract Law (VVG). However, the contract must be can-celled in writing. Sending it via registered mail is recommended so that no one can claim that the letter was

never delivered. Also: Contracts signed by underage individuals without the consent of their parents can be cancelled at any time.

Overinsured

A new Berlin WallMaximilian Norrmann (Year 10)Katholische Theresienschule Berlin

A wall stands for separation – blocking one side from the other. The most fa-

mous example might be the Berlin Wall. It was erected on 13 August 1961 by the then DDR government to divide Germany (and Berlin) into East and West. On 9 November 1989, the Wall was opened thanks to increasing pressure from the East Ger-man population.

24 years after the Fall of the Wall, one can still fi nd rem-nants of it. The longest remain-ing piece of the Wall is the East Side Gallery on the Spree River. A few weeks ago, though, this sym-bol received a few scratches – or more precisely holes – de-spite its protected sta-tus. A new apartment complex with luxu-

ry fl ats is being constructed on the property directly behind the old Wall. Some of the remaining parts of the Wall had to be re-moved so that bulldozers could make their way onto the property. Over 6,000 people demonstrated at the East Side Gallery and

demanded an immediate stop to the construction work.

These luxury fl ats are part of a much bigger trend that can be observed across many major cities. In some cases, whole blocks

are being modernised and converted into luxury apart-ments. At the same time, residents are being forced

out of their old neigh-bourhoods as rent prices

become unaff orda-ble. Such people

are fi nding it increasingly

diffi cult to fi nd modestly-priced housing in these cities. Living space is at a premium in Berlin and rent prices will only continue to rise. At the same time, fewer subsidized apartments are being built to support the less fortunate.

For many residents in Berlin, the build-ings going up next to the East Side Gallery symbolise a new wall: the one dividing the rich and poor.

www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer Photos: privat

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Sales channel, page 3 Sales is one of the three main pillars of business along with procurement and production. The term „sales“ includes all of the activities that contribute to the sale of a product or service. Amongst others, this means setting prices, creating ads and selecting the avenues (channels) through which the product will travel to go from the manufacturer to the consu-mer. This can be stores or internet shops, for example.

Logistics, page 3 Logistics consist of the planning and per-forming of all processes relating to the transport and storage of various goods. Its basic goal is to transport the needed materials in the right amounts and quali-ty at the right time to the right place in a cost efficient manner.

Advertising agency, page 4 Many companies do not create their own ads, but assign agencies to create these for them. These companies specialise in developing and realising advertising con-cepts. The concepts can range from de-signs for posters and internet banners to scripts for TV and radio commercials and everything in between.

Guidelines, page 5 In general usage, one understands guide-lines as rules to be followed. In European law, the term has a more specific mean-ing: If the European Union (EU) passes a guideline, all EU member states have to integrate its regulations, such as placing warning labels on cigarette packaging, into their own legal system. To do this, each country passes its own laws based on these guidelines.

Cheat sheetAn overview of the mostimportant words and phrasesfrom this issue

Dieter Fockenbrock (Chief Correspondent at the Handelsblatt) and Hans Kaminski (Scientific Directorof the IÖB)

Dear readers,

The US government narrowly avoided defaulting on its debt this past October. A sigh of relief was heard not just in America, though, but around the world. We explain why US debt is so important to the rest of the world on page 1. The theme of influence and leverage also ap-pear in some of our other articles: For exam-ple, the Handelsblatt topic (pages 2/3) covers the changes that online shops have brought to German retail. On page 6, we ask how far advertisers are allowed to go in attempting to grab customers‘ attention. And on page 5, we take a closer look at the work of lobbyists. They work behind the scenes in an attempt to influence political decisions. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas season!

VocabularyenGliSch deutSch

default Zahlungsverzug

calf feeders Kälbertränken

cow cleaners Kuhputzmaschinen

enticing verlockend

retail industry (Einzel-)handel

brick and mortar hier: stationäre Geschäfte

layoffs Entlassungen

online retailers Onlinehändler

desertification Verödung

expenses Ausgaben

to counteract sth. etw. entgegenwirken

to ship sth. etw. verschicken

exuberant überglücklich

cronyism Seilschaften

highest bidder Höchstbieter

enGliSch deutSch

tug of war Tauziehen

diligent emsig

contender Streiter

intertwined verflochten

to post sales Umsatz generieren

outlandish haarsträubend

to make waves für Aufruhr sorgen

class action lawsuit Sammelklage

overwhelming überwältigend

allusions Anspielungen

Needless to say natürlich

to nullify sth. etw. annullieren

bulldozer Bagger

to be at a premium knapp sein

to narrowly avoid sth. etw. nur knapp meiden

leverage hier: Einfluss

ImpressumHerausgeber: Dieter Fockenbrock, V.i.S.d.P. (Handelsblatt) und Hans Kaminski (Institut für Ökonomische Bildung IÖB, Uni Oldenburg)Redaktion: Melanie RübartschKonzept: Katrin Eggert, Dieter Fockenbrock, Hans Kaminski, Michael Koch Art Director: Stefan Vieten Koordination: Maren Kienaß, Melanie RübartschLayout und Fotos: Sandra Janzsó, Corinna ThielHandelsblatt Newcomer Online: Eva Erb-SchulzeMarketing und Vertrieb: Verena von HugoEnglische Übersetzung: John Dalbey für PONS GmbHVerlag: Handelsblatt GmbH Geschäftsführung: Gabor Steingart (Vorsitzender), Jörg Mertens, Claudia Michalski Kasernenstr. 67, 40213 Düsseldorf Tel.: +49 (0) 211-887-0Druck: kuncke druck GmbH, Kornkamp 24, 22926 AhrensburgMitarbeiter dieser Ausgabe: Maximilian Norrmann, Lehrer und Schüler des Alten Gymnasiums und der Helene-Lange-Schule Oldenburg (Ortrud Reuter-Kaminski, Emely Bagge, Martha Heeke, Anton Herrschel, Jonas Klusmann, Lena Matthes, Yannoh Mügge, Lea Schönborn, Luca Schüler) Fragen und Feedback: hb.schule@vhb.de oder über Facebook (www.facebook.com/handelsblatt-machtschule). Für Unternehmen mit Interesse an einer Partnerschaft: hb.schule@vhb.de Handelsblatt Newcomer erscheint alle zwei Monate.Sie als Lehrkraft können Handelsblatt Newcomer für Ihre Schüler kostenlos bestellen: www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer

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Photos: Judith Wagner/Handelsblatt; Institut für Ökonomische Bildung www.handelsblattmachtschule.de/newcomer

FuN & FAcTS November 2013, ISSUE 26H8

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