Top 10 Businesses Of The Future (2020-2030)

 

Top 10 Businesses Of The Future (2020-2030)

Electrical Re-charging Station

Welcome to 2030. You are looking down the window thinking about the good old time of ICEs (Internal combustion engine) cars. Those petrol/gas refilling stations you used to know have given way to electricity re-charging stations. Your auto-mobile business friend that deals in traditional cars is out of business.  And so is the auto-repair shop down the street. An electric car with “power of tesla” imprinted on it stops by the street corner’s electricity dispenser to get a refill. Instantly, that profit-oriented side of you kicks the other fear-driven side. Now you can perceive the hard cold cash that could be rolling into the bank for you if you started your own electrical recharging station. Your brain is ignited and dispensing several questions on autopilot into your mind. How do you get started? How much capital do you need to kick-start? What’s the pricing regulation like?

At the speed of technological advancement, the time of electric cars is already in some developed countries. And soon enough petrol pumps and fossil energy will not be spoken of never again. So you see a future of liquidation for petrol station owners and I see a new goldmine most especially for the early starters of electrical recharging stations

Taxi Dispatching

Still 2030. You are down the stairs and a phone conversation takes your attention. The caller hangs up then shortly a Lambo parks next to them. They went in and off. You ask yourself what just happened. Wake up man, it is 2030 which means it may be over with the old traditional courier services. This is the era of taxi dispatching and it is here already. Uber is proof.

As of now, there are about 20 taxi dispatch software of which TaxiMobility is trusted by 1000 companies. But what is taxi dispatching and what is a taxi dispatching software? I hear you ask. Well, a taxi dispatching service provider links just any licensed driver with passengers. The business is all about allocating driving jobs to readily available drivers. But how do dispatching service providers get in touch with these drivers? That’s where the need for a taxi dispatch app/software kicks in. These apps connect dispatchers with passengers, let dispatchers assist drivers with directions to the location of pickups. And you know what this means? You may either create your own taxi dispatch software and sell a solution to taxi dispatch businesses or maybe hold a taxi dispatch business yourself. Meanwhile, you may do just both. All in all, taxi dispatch may be the easiest to start and the least capital intensive business idea of the nearest future.

Drone Delivery

Seen people taking tropical pictures with the help of flying drones? AI (artificial intelligence) is already touching our lives in every direction. And soon we will be a lot more connected to it than we are today. Today, drones are developed for several purposes. While some are grenade droppers and spying devices in the military, others are being used in tunnels and mines to see ahead. But you know what? Big e-commerce companies like Amazon have intelligently found an out-of-the-box application for our new drone friends. The new Prime Air drone of Amazon is capable of delivering a 2.7kg package over a long distance of 15 miles in just 30 minutes. And in months from now, Amazon will be delivering by drones alone.

Imagine what the future holds for the present commercial delivery service business owners using buses and vans. Many will fall out of business, few will adapt to the coming change, and many startups will evolve. This is a message to you as a delivery service business holder and as well an eye-opener into a promising opportunity.

Home Sharing

The hotel rooms are reeking in cobwebs. The once clinking sounds of bottles are instead the chirping of crickets. What’s evolving as a replacement for the fallout of hotels with the business world? And why does your friend’s condo appear on Craiglist now and then?

Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk cofounded Airbnb the first-ever home-sharing brand late 2008 in the streets of San Francisco. And just today, not only does Airbnb claim a $31 billion networth to its name but has opened the doors to this new billion dollars idea to the like of Book Holdings and VRBO of Expedia. Does this mean that people are getting much inclined to home-sharing than they are to hotels? The answer is yes. In 2015 alone, Airbnb home-sharing site recorded a monthly visit of 94.9 million. Why? Home-sharing beats hotels to the dust with offers such as; a larger accommodation, wide range of amenities, cost-effective, longer stay, convenience, and a generational appeal. And that’s why your friend’s condo unit is on listing for house-sharing. If you own a hotel, it’s time for a tabula rasa.

Solar Power Business

The removal of utility poles has brought about an increment in space for social development. Meanwhile, dams are getting transformed into photovoltaic power stations. Here comes Alexandre Edmond’s prophesy.

Are you aware of the new fashion hats with solar panels in them? These hats allow you to keep your devices, your phones most especially, powered on the go. You wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve seen one or two solar-powered cars from Volvo, Toyota, or and Honda. Not only is the world shifting away from burning fuels as a way to escape global warming but the cost of electrical power is pretty high compared to the solar system. Not only do we see an end to electricity power holding companies but a new dawn of solar business which is in fact here already. So if you are asking what business will grow in the future, solar power business is one.

Passenger Drone Business

Seen the movie Men in Black or Colin Farrell’s Total recall earlier? Yes? Then you’ve seen those flying drone vehicles with passengers in them. Well, the first-ever drone limo service had been started in 2017 with Ehang 184 the one passenger drone. Ehang 184 travels at the speed of 100 miles per hour and it was made by Chinese popular drone engineering corporation Beijing Yi-Hung.

While this may write an ending line to the history of planes and land transportation especially, many drone transportation service brands will come to the limelight. So whatever your business plan maybe today for the future, this is yet another future business staring at you.

Nano Technology and Watson health business

In 20 years, life span will increase with the ultimate power of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is simply a branch of technology that deals with small dimensional systems with large inputs. Some of the innovations of nanotechnology today include tiny robots of less than 100 nanometers that can be injected into the body system to cure even the most chronic diseases.

If you are seeing an end to traditional medical services already by this then the Watson of IBM will amaze you. A hyper-intelligent supercomputer that has the most accurate answer to just anything. With these two powers available decentralized, chances are techy individuals with a good knowledge of AI will be the leading-edge of the medical sector. Therefore, it’s definitely a race of who is most techy than of who has the highest degree certificate in the medical field.

Consultancy

Technology and its advent are pushing forward rapidly. Every sector and every business are obviously getting affected in score ways. The most obvious is the recent massive attention paid to internet/online marketing. Every businesses today must have an online presence and that’s the new good rule of thumb. How then are businesses finding adding flexibility to their rigid working traditions and ethics?

Consultancy is the answer. Consultants are professional advisors to business holders in the law sector, human resources, finance, healthcare, and more. Consultants also serve as startup assistants. And due to the continued technological advancement, the need for consultants is ever increasing. Isn’t it about that time you hone in your consultancy skill and maybe kick-start a consultancy business? Here are the top profitable consulting business ideas to look into.

Robotic Rentals and Repairs

There are already robots vested with several industrial and manufacturing responsibilities. In China today, there are robots used in schools, in the military, healthcare, and in many industrial automation companies as well. Sooner or later there will be no such thing as human labor force with the likes of Kengoro, the Japanese most advanced robot that has just all the capabilities of a human.

But no matter the efficiency, speed, and accuracy of these newly found tech companions, there’s always someone needed to take care of them when they fault out. Therefore, I welcome you to the future industry of robotic repairs. A future industry with good promises for robotics engineers. And are there some more future business opportunities coming from this end. Of course yes. There will be robotic rentals, robotic outlets, and even more businesses coming from the emergent of robots in great scores.

3D Printing and Data Crunching

3D printing is taking over the recycling of things soon. Need a pair of those sunglasses? Print it. Need your own personal sneakers? Print it. The only downside is printers are way expensive as at now. But as long as technology keeps advancing and more 3D printers are being developed, the cost will ease.

On the other side, as the need to take businesses digital is on the high, consumers’ data are an essential resource. Which means there is a need for data crunching specialists. The question now is, would you learn data crunching and start your own data crunching brand now? Would you become a 3D printer operator right from now?

2022 to 2032

Times are a’changing. What may have been a great business idea last decade may not necessarily be one of the best businesses to start in 2022.

Ten years ago many of the hottest new business ideas for 2022 may not have even existed! The growing influence of the Millennial generation is starting to impact which will be the top industries of the next decade. Furthermore, Gen Z are growing up and reaching a point of having more significant spending power.

The key for business success in the next decade is to cater to the wants and whims of these two powerful generations: Millennials and Gen Zers.

 

Micro-mobility services

Millennials are 21% more likely than Gen Xers to purchase homes in city centers. This growing trend towards urban living has birthed one of the most popular transportation options today – electric scooters.

Even if you can’t (understandably) afford to compete with the likes of Bird and Lime, don’t be discouraged. You don’t have to have your own line of electric scooters to get into the micro-mobility industry! Think of the bigger picture – accessories, branding of scooters, and scooter services.

If you have a knack for enterprising you could offer a full service solution including recovery and collection of scooters, charging them, maintaining them, and redeploying them to prime locations during the course of the day. If you’re willing to work at unusual times of the day, have basic handyman skills, and prefer not to sit in an office all day, this could be one of the best business ideas for 2022 for you.

Food truck

The foodie trend for this decade is fast, casual, healthy food. Almost 40% of Millennials (CB Insights) eat takeout food and, in line with their fit lifestyles, generally prefer healthy options.

A food truck with healthy menu options gives Millennials the convenience, ambience and nutrition they crave. You could even cater to a niche market by offering, for example, vegan food or specialty dishes. If you decide you want to grow your business, you could always apply for a commercial Loan from Bank

 

 

Fitness center

Gone are the days of the gym chains dominating the fitness industry, so us little guys have a chance of starting a fitness business in 2021. Millennials have proven to prefer boutique fitness studios over large, impersonal gyms – and aren’t afraid to spend money for such a sense of community and personalization.  According to a CB Insights study, 76% of Millennials exercise at least once a week, and collectively spend almost $7 billion per year on gym memberships (Gen Xers and Baby Boomers spend half of that).

You can start out small, offering classes in your area of expertise such as yoga, boxing, pilates or more. 

 

Pet portal

Millennials see their pets as their ‘starter kids’ and expect to spend more on their dog over its lifetime than they would on their own medical care. Tapping into the pet market is a potential goldmine for the next decade.

It’s also the perfect way to combine an online business with traditional services. You could source pet products and sell them online, or you could serve as an affiliate for pet product sellers. But aside from the retail element, you could offer a full pet services solution including dog walking, pet sitting, grooming, and even doggy daycare. You could expand your business by creating a portal matching dog sitters or walkers with pet owners.

 

 

Freelancing

You can join the gig economy and start a freelance business in 2021 based on your area of expertise. If you don’t specialize in any one thing, such as graphic design or social media, you can always start a Virtual Assistant business which often just requires basic admin and organizational skills. Freelancing requires very little startup costs and you can do it from the comfort of your own home.

Educational courses: Got knowledge to share? Write it down, or even better yet, create a podcast. Here are some key tips for launching

• Research your target market
• Make your course interactive including checklists
• Use text, video, audio and imagery
• Decide on a format, for example PDF, PowerPoint and SCORM
• Choose the right e-Learning platform
• Create a website and/or landing page
• Promote using content, SEO and social media best practices

 

 

 

The richest investors in shipping are buying gasoline tankers

The richest investors in shipping are buying gasoline tankers, anticipating that fuel demand will expand faster than the fleet for the first time in nine years.

Global shipments will jump 4.3 percent in 2012 as vessel capacity gains 3.7 percent, according to London-based Clarkson Plc (CKN), the world’s largest shipbroker. Daily rates for Medium- Range tankers, each hauling enough fuel to fill about 780,000 cars, will rise 19 percent to an average of $14,844 this year, the median of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows. That’s more than the $10,999 anticipated in forward freight agreements, traded by brokers and used to bet on future rates.

While demand for seaborne gasoline, diesel and other products is expanding to a record, it still won’t be enough to eliminate the glut of ships.

Product tankers are traveling farther because new refinery capacity is being built in Asia, increasing ship owners’ returns from each cargo.

John Fredriksen, whose publicly traded assets are valued at $9.27 billion, ordered as many as 10 of the tankers last month.Wilbur Ross, whose company manages about $10 billion of assets, was part of a group buying 30 vessels in September. Global refineries are shifting to India and China from Europe and the U.S., increasing delivery distances and tying up vessels for longer, effectively boosting demand for shipping.

“This is smart money that has historically done well investing at the right time of the cycle,” said Jonathan Chappell, an analyst at Evercore Partners Inc. in New York whose recommendations on the shares of shipping companies returned 9.8 percent in the past three months. “Those purchases by Ross and John Fredriksen confirm that the fundamentals appear most attractive for product tankers.”

Crude Carriers

MR tanker rates averaged $12,500 last year, 29 percent more than in 2010, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

That’s different from most of the rest of the shipping industry. Earnings for very large crude carriers, about eight times bigger than MRs, averaged $22,137 in 2011, down from $42,616 in 2010, Clarkson data show. Capesizes, the biggest coal carriers, got an average of $15,639, compared with $33,298 a year earlier, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange, which publishes costs along more than 50 maritime routes.

Fredriksen, 67, ordered six MR tankers valued at $210 million last month from Changwon, South Korea-based STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. and took an option for four more. Ross invested about $300 million in Diamond S Shipping of Greenwich, Connecticut, which bought vessels from Cido Tanker Holding Co. It was the 74-year-old’s first investment in shipping.

U.S. seaborne imports of refined products will rise about 9 percent to 2 million barrels a day this year, helping to compensate for projected declines across Europe, led by a 5 percent drop inGermany, according to Clarkson. China will become a net exporter by 2015 and India, which already sells more than it buys, will be refining 70 percent more oil products by 2016, the shipbroker estimates.

Seaborne Gasoline

The U.S. exported 60,385 barrels a day more refined products than it imported in 2011, the first net sales since at least 2001, Energy Department data show. Five years earlier, net imports averaged 2.3 million barrels a day.

While demand for seaborne gasoline, diesel and other products is expanding to a record, it still won’t be enough to eliminate the glut of ships. Cargoes of refined products that will reach 99.9 million deadweight tons will be met with vessel supply of 114.2 million, Clarkson’s forecasts show. Deadweight tonnage is a measure of carrying capacity, and the estimates include all types of product tankers.

Shipping companies will still lose money. Scorpio (STNG) Tankers Inc., the owner of 12 products vessels, will narrow its net loss to $13.6 million this year from $82.7 million in 2011, the mean of four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows.

Torm A/S (TORM), the largest publicly traded owner of the vessels, will report a loss of $166 million, down from $453 million, seven predictions show. Shares of the Hellerup, Denmark-based company, on track to fall for a sixth year in 2012, will plunge 73 percent to 0.81 krone in the next 12 months, according to the average of five estimates. Torm deferred debt repayments four times since December.

Automobile Association

Rising gasoline prices may curb consumption. The pump price of regular gasoline in the U.S. rose to $3.767 a gallon on March 4, compared with $3.206 on Dec. 20, data from the American Automobile Association show. A liter (0.26 gallon) of gasoline averaged about 1.61 euros ($2.13) across the 27-nation European Union last week, from 1.48 euros in the first week of December, according to data from the European Commission.

Oil prices are rising because of mounting international tension over Iran, which the U.S. and EU say is developing nuclear weapons. Sanctions on Iranian crude are curbing trade with the second-biggest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the nation has threatened to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the transit point for about 20 percent of the world’s crude.

East Coast

The narrowing surplus capacity in product tankers compares with growing gluts elsewhere. The VLCC fleet will expand 6.3 percent this year as demand swells by 3.2 percent, Clarkson estimates. The combined fleet of carriers hauling coal, iron ore and grain will gain 13 percent as the number of cargoes advances 4 percent.

Product tankers are traveling farther because new refinery capacity is being built in Asia, increasing ship owners’ returns from each cargo. European and U.S. East Coast refineries are scheduled to cut about 12 percent of their output by the middle of the year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They are losing money because they use crude oil priced off Brent, currently trading at a 16 percent premium to the West Texas Intermediate benchmark used by Midwest and Gulf Coast refineries.

India is the largest Asian supplier of refined products to the U.S., and monthly deliveries rose 26 percent to a record 1.9 million barrels last year, Department of Energy data show. India is more than twice as far from New York as Rotterdam.

Scorpio Stock

While Monaco-based Scorpio is expected to report a loss this year, its shares will advance 24 percent to $7.92 in the next 12 months, the average of six analyst estimates shows. Seven of eight analysts covering the company and tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the shares.

“The two points on the graph are crossing,” said Charles Mantell, the analyst in London who compiles Clarkson’s product- tanker forecasts. “It’s a combination of change in supply and change in demand. Growth in Asia and America will tip into positive. It’s far better than the crude market.”

Italian growth data confirms nation in recession:

Italy's economy contracted 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter from the third, definitive data showed on Monday, confirming the country is in a recession expected to  last for much of the year.

    National statistics office ISTAT said gross domestic product was down 0.4 percent year-on-year, slightly revising a preliminary estimate of -0.5 pct.

    Domestic demand slumped, investments and inventories declined while net exports contributed positively.

    Third quarter growth was confirmed at -0.2 percent q/q, but revised to +0.4 percent y/y from a previous estimate of +0.3 percent.

    The two consecutive quarters of decline in GDP constitute analysts' technical definition of a recession.

    The figures underscore the difficulties facing Mario Monti's technocrat government as it grapples with a shrinking economy dragged down by austerity measures and a debt crisis.

    Italian data lagged a euro zone average of -0.3 percent q/q and +0.7 percent y/y. Economic indicators are pointing to a further slowdown for most of 2012 in Italy, which has been the most sluggish economy in the euro zone over the last decade.

    The Bank of Italy forecasts a 1.5 percent full-year contraction this year, far steeper than the government's official projection of -0.4 percent.

    Over the whole of 2011, Italian GDP rose a work-day adjusted 0.5 percent, compared to a 1.8 percent rise in 2010.

 

German exports post steepest drop in nearly 3 years

German exports posted their steepest fall in nearly three years in December, data showed on Wednesday in a sign Europe's largest economy is weakening in the wake of the euro zone debt crisis.

    Data from the Federal Statistics Office showed seasonally-adjusted exports fell 4.3 percent, the steepest decline since the height of the financial crisis in January 2009. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a drop of just 1.0 percent.

    The trade surplus narrowed to 13.9 billion euros from a revised 14.9 billion euros the month prior. That compared with a consensus forecast for a dip to 14.0 billion euros in a Reuters poll of economists.

    Imports fell unexpectedly, by 3.9 percent. They had been forecast to rise 0.6 percent.

 

Moody's warns UK, France, Austria over AAA rating; cuts others

Moodys warns UK, France, Austria,  Italy, Spain and Portugal

over

AAA rating; cuts others

 

Rating agency Moody's warned on Monday it may cut the triple-A ratings of France, the United Kingdom and Austria, and it downgraded six other European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal, citing growing risks from Europe's debt crisis.

    Moving less aggressively than rival agency Standard & Poor’s last month but putting the United Kingdom’s rating in jeopardy for the first time, Moody’s said it was worried about Europe's ability to undertake the kind of reforms needed to address the crisis and the amount of funds available to fight it.

    It also said the region's weak economy could undermine austerity drives by governments to fix their finances.

    The U.S. rating agency said it changed the outlooks for the ratings of France, the UK and Austria to negative due to "a number of specific credit pressures that would exacerbate the susceptibility of these sovereigns' balance sheets."

    Germany's top-tier rating was described as "appropriate" by Moody's And it affirmed the triple-A rating on the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Fund.

    Moody's, which said late last year it was reconsidering its European ratings, cut by one notch the ratings of Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta and downgraded Spain by two notches.

    Moody's said the scope of the downgrades was limited due to "the European authorities' commitment to preserving the monetary union and implementing whatever reforms are needed to restore market confidence."

    The announcement came a day after Greece's parliament approved a deep new round of budget cuts in the hope of securing new bailout funds and avoiding a chaotic default in March. 

    The rating outlooks of the nine countries affected by Moody's action was set to negative, "given the continuing uncertainty over financing conditions over the next few quarters and its corresponding impact on creditworthiness," Moody's said.

BRITAIN, FRANCE UNDER PRESSURE

    Britain's finance minister responded by saying the country must keep its promise to slash its large budget deficit.

    "This is proof that, in the current global situation, Britain cannot waver from dealing with its debts," finance minister George Osborne said. "This is a reality check for anyone who thinks Britain can duck confronting its debts."

    The government in Britain has come under increasing pressure to soften its austerity measures to give a stalling economy room to breathe.

    The French government said it will press ahead with its policies to improve competitiveness and growth while reducing the government deficit.

    "The government is determined to press ahead with its actions to boost growth and competitiveness, notably the reform of the financing of welfare, of employment and the reduction of public deficits," Finance Minister Francois Baroin said in a statement.

    Moody's move on Monday follows one by Standard & Poor's last month, when France and Austria lost their triple-A status, while Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia were downgraded. S&P also cut the EFSF by one notch.

    Also in January, rating agency Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain, indicating there was a 1-in-2 chance of further cuts in the next two years.

 

Germany loses patience with Greece

Germany loses patience with Greece 


Germany is running out of patience with throwing money into the "bottomless pit" of Greece's debt crisis and any lingering sympathy in Berlin is being undermined by anti-German slogans on the lips of politicians and austerity protesters in Athens.
    While officially hailing the Greek parliament's approval of the savings package required for a new 130 billion-euro bailout,  Berlin signalled this would not automatically mean more aid, as the feeling grew that Greece should not be saved at any cost.
    With Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warning "Greek promises aren't enough for us anymore" and Economy Minister Philipp Roesler saying "fear of Day X (a Greek euro exit)" is fading, Germany seems to have tired of issuing threats that it would never follow through.
    "Berlin threatens Greeks with end to aid," read the front page of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, while Die Welt wrote: "Schaeuble warns Greeks: no savings, no money."
    The sight of Greek anti-austerity protesters and politicians blaming Chancellor Angela Merkel for their plight provoked anger in the patriotic pages of Germany's best-selling daily, Bild.
    Greeks and other European recipients of aid to which Germany is the biggest single contributor "should put flowers outside our embassies and send the chancellor thank-you notes".
    "Instead the demonstrators insult their German helpers and liken our government to Nazis, which is intolerable," it said.
    Officially, Merkel's government remains committed to enabling another aid package for Greece and doing what it can to avoid the first sovereign default in the euro zone.
    "The chancellor knows her place in history is tied to Greece and she won't want to be remembered as the one responsible for a default," said a conservative lawmaker, asking not to be named.
    But the MP said the Greek parliament's approval of the unpopular savings plan, including a 22 percent cut in the minimum wage, did not arouse much interest in Berlin "because nobody really believes any more that Greece will deliver".
    'NOT THE END OF THE WORLD'
    While Merkel's own Christian Democrats (CDU) remain largely on message with the chancellor and European Commission on the need to keep Greece in the euro, more eurosceptic allies from the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Roesler's Free Democrats (FDP) are taking a more aggressive line with the Greeks.
    "There can be no more concessions. Now only deeds count," said the FDP Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle while CSU leader Horst Seehofer spoke of German referendums on future bailouts - something Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert ruled out.
    Hans Michelbach, an MP on the budget committee in the Bundestag (lower house) which exerts some control over the bailout payments, said Athens should not be under any illusion that its parliament's vote meant the release of fresh aid would be automatic.
    "Even the best agreements are no use without an efficient administration. Unfortunately so far we don't get the impression that the governments in Athens have really made a serious commitment," said Michelbach, a CSU deputy.
    Schaeuble reinforced this impression by telling lawmakers last Friday that even the latest Greek savings plan would not put the country on track to cut public debt to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 - its chief condition for aid.
    Such dogged insistence on strict terms for aid is one of the reasons Merkel has kept a lid on growing scepticism in Germany about how deserving Athens is of such largesse. In one recent opinion poll, two thirds of Germans surveyed said they doubted Greece's determination to make savings.
    For Erik Nielsen, global chief economist for Unicredit, an Italian bank, the chancellor's unmatched success in preventing the rise of a major eurosceptic backlash is down to her heeding the "German public's sensitivities to lending their tax money to a country that does not implement very many of its promises".
    But with her finance minister talking of Greek aid as "a bottomless pit" and growing incredulity about Athens meeting such conditions, Merkel must be worried about the Bundestag's special session on the second Greek bailout due on Feb. 27.
    Merkel narrowly avoided disaster - for the euro and her own political fortunes - in September's vote in the Bundestag on the current bailout mechanism (the European Financial Stability Mechanism). She cannot afford more lawmakers to start thinking like CDU MP Christian von Stetten, who told one paper: "A Greek exit from the euro zone would not be the end of the world."

Spain sees solid demand for 3 medium-term bonds

 Spain saw solid demand for 3 medium-term bonds on Thursday, selling 4.1 billion euros ($5.4 billion) of the paper, just above the targeted range, but with some pressure on yields as support from cheap cash from the European Central Bank waned.

    Investors may have also been pushing for a premium as talks on the second Greek bailout faltered.

    Spain sold 2.3 billion euros of a bond maturing July. 30, 2015 at an average yield of 3.322 percent compared to 2.861 percent paid at the last primary auction on Feb. 2.

    The bond was 2.2 times subscribed, compared to 1.6 times earlier in the month.

    The Treasury shifted 733 million euros of the other 2015 issue, maturing Jan. 31, at an average yield of 2.966 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 4.4, and 1.1 billion euros of a bond maturing Oct. 31, 2019 with a 4.832 percent yield and 3.3 times subscribed.

    The Jan. 2015 bond last sold on the primary market August, 2011 and the longer dated issue was last sold in October of last year. Yields were down on both from last year.

    The treasury has benefited from the ECB's long-term refinancing operations (LTRO) which flooded markets with almost a half a trillion euros of cheap three-year cash in December and will provide more of the same at the end of this month.

    Earlier, official data showed Spain's economy shrank for the first time in two years, weighed down by weak domestic demand and faltering exports as its main trading partners own economies stumble.

 Spain saw solid demand for medium- and long-term bonds, paying over 2 percentage points less to issue a 5-year bond than Italy this week, easing concerns it was the euro zone’s weakest link. Italy had to pay a record 6.47 percent on 5-year bonds, offering little relief to investors in the region.

Italy’s main employers’ lobby, Confindustria said Italy is already in recession and will not emerge from it until the third quarter of 2013, Confindustria said.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Europe and that is worrying investors,” said Ken Hasegawa, commodity derivatives manager at Newedge Brokerage in Tokyo.

Signs of weakness in the global economy are also upsetting investors. China’s factory output shrank again in December, a preliminary purchasing managers’ survey showed, reinforcing concerns that manufacturers face waning global demand and tight domestic credit.