This Week’s German Stocks…by the Numbers (12/1/2014 – 12/5/2014)

Figures in this article reflect prices as of market close on 12/4/2014, unless otherwise stated.

10,093.03: The number that the DAX (the 30 largest companies listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange) reached shortly before Friday’s close: a record! On Thursday, it broke its previous all time high of 10,050.98, set in July, but fell again to end the day under 10,000. It broke that new record mere moments before market close.

16.16: The amount by which the MDAX (the next 50 largest German companies, excluding tech) missed its all-time high of 17,203.80 on Friday. The TecDAX (30 largest tech companies) and HDAX (comprised of all companies on the DAX, MDAX, and TecDAX), on the other hand, performed similarly to the DAX, reaching new highs of 1,372.78 and 5,220.18, respectively, beating their previous all-time records of 1,379.47 and 5,242.42.

47: The number of years that the Franco-German Finance and Economic Council has occurred. This week in Berlin, the 47th Council was tense as Germany and France disagreed over the best way to stimulate growth in Europe. The French would like Germany to ease spending limits to spur growth, but Chancellor Merkel believes Germany must keep its budget balanced…in contrast to Fraance, whose deficit has exceeded the EU limit of 3% of GDP.

13,82 %: The amount that SMA Solar Technology (ETR: S92) (FRA: S92) shaved off on Tuesday – by far the biggest one-day loss of the week by an HDAX company – after announcing it was lowering its sales and earnings forecasts for the year. The company’s board now expects sales of 775 million to 790 million Euro (down from 850 million to 950 million) and an earnings loss of up to 115 million Euro (down from a 45 million Euro loss, excluding provisions for a planned staff reduction).: “Our previous forecast was based on the assumption of a strong sales upturn toward the end of the year,” explained SMA’s CEO Pierre-Pascal Urbon. “Unfortunately, markets in Europe have not developed as well as expected.”

61: The age that Lufthansa  (ETR: LHA) (FRA: LHA) insists should be the lowest early retirement age for its pilots. The pilots’ union United Cockpit (UC), though, wants to keep an existing plan that has the lowest early retirement age set at 55. UC has organized pilot strikes and walkouts this week that cancelled almost 1,400 flights between Monday and Wednesday, with more planned. Lufthansa’s stock, however, rose more than 6% this week.

2: The number of companies that Germany’s largest utility, E.ON (ETR: EOAN) (FRA: EOAN), will split into, following a restructuring that was announced Sunday. The new focus of the company will be renewable energy and regulated distribution assets. It will spin off the rest of its businesses into a new entity. German Economic Minister Sigmar Gabriel supports the change. He said that the focus on renewables and smart grid technology would help the country shift its energy resources.