among the 6 titles discontinued our if i ran the scrambled eggs super delegates poll and on beyond zebra but with dr seuss's catalogue including more than 60 classic titles it seems hard to believe that his stories are going to disappear from the pages of history any time soon. that's all for me now but stay tuned for me which. i subscribe to do you know where you books you meet your favorite writer sometimes. you have to respond. to. that 77 percent. are younger than think. that's me and me and. you know what time of course is. 77 percent.

from part 2 flashes from people who top this is where. the 77 percent. this weekend t w. business is in germany brace for a longer lockdown rise in case numbers and a slow vaccine rollout of the backdrop for today's meeting between berlin and the state's retailers meanwhile are pleading for more reopening. on the show it's investor day at exxon mobil and there's likely to be big questions on the oil majors future as renewables gain more ground. globe welcome to the show m c busy in berlin it's good to have you with us well germany is likely to extend

its current lock down to march 28th that's according to a widely circulated draft document which will lead in today's meeting between chancellor angela merkel and leaders of the german states hotels restaurants and retail would remain largely closer the draft plan it calls for some limited reopening following the recent return of hair salons and a few other businesses employers may be manned. it's provided to cope at $1000.00 tons per week for their employees meanwhile germany's vaccination efforts are moving slowly to production delays and slow distribution. and let's go over to our financial correspondent chelsea delaney in frankfurt good morning josie we've seen already that the retail association of germany is calling for reopening to happen faster the been calling all week for this doesn't look like it's going to happen how dire is the situation for retail in germany. well the lockdowns have been catastrophic for retail it is a little bit difficult to put a number on this because until april of this year businesses don't have to file for

bankruptcy and that obligation has been suspended but we've heard repeatedly from the retail industry association as well as other businesses and retailers that about half are on the verge of bankruptcy so there is the threat as these locked out of are extended that many will face bankruptcy in the coming months we saw yesterday that many stores particularly. and retail stores athol their their revenues were down 77 percent in january so many many are at the brink and the decisions made today likely won't bring them any relief and the coming months ahead it shows that we heard yesterday from u.s. president joe biden that they expect full vaccine availability by the end of may here in germany by the end of september how big is that distinction for the business communities in the 2 countries. wolf of course crucial and many

businesses here in europe are really still hoping that they will be up and running again by the summer if you if you look at for example the travel industry many travel companies think that there are hoping that they'll be able to return to vacation and have business going again by the summer if the vaccine effort is stalling if it takes longer than that in the summer to get people vaccinated that all of that is really going to put into question and the recovery that many businesses are counting on all right chelsey plenty of latest from frankfurt thank you very much. and one retail area that's been hard hit by the lockdowns the apparel industry even in normal times stores work hard to keep the latest items on the shelf now they're not even getting to the shelf and online shopping remains a work in progress especially for smaller shops to look more cool fashions modi's spring collection has a pretty short shelf life yet almost the entire output of the saxony based fashion

house is still in the warehouse orders from german boutiques of dried up and exports are sluggish slowly but surely motives financial resources are dwindling. in this country as you can know if this continues and the least of the season is as good as dead yet again because up to that cutthroat price wars and gigantic discounts all flare up. and that means profitability for us customers and the specialist traders hits rock bottom. mode a c.e.o. thomas hose there is considering selling directly to the public after the look down straight from warehouse to customer with discounts an attempt to generate at least some kind of revenue mode it is only one of $160.00 struggling textile and clothing manufacturers in the region the sector association wants an end to the lockdown. stop the whole thing open the shops again get back to normal life give the companies the space they need to become economically viable again. pedestrian

shopping zones are almost deserted around $50000.00 retailers are on the edge of going bankrupt small retailers in particular simply aren't equipped to switch to online sales sales at women's fashion houses fell 70 percent year on year this january and february the family owned company is over 100 years old it manufactures its collection in germany and sells it across europe to small and mid-sized retailers. retailers are asking why they should order for 2021 right now as far as the numbers in their orders go the forecast is minus 50 percent. and minus 50 percent for a company of our size and probably every company our size is a gigantic problem. sidle is hoping to generate a little extra revenue by making personal protective clothing for medical staff hospitals and politicians have been asking if you can produce it yet so far he's

hardly been given any firm contracts. or and shifting gears from the retail industry to the oil industry exxon mobil has its investor day today and investors are likely to have some pressing questions for the american oil nature now unlike its european rivals b.p. and shell exxon has really has it hated to embrace the growing renewables market but impatience for a strategy shift is growing among some investors the oil price shock of the pandemic has only increased their calls for the major to diversify that here's how bad the industry was hit last year exxon mobil lost $22000000000.00 and that after recording a $14000000000.00 profit just a year earlier that wasn't alone british oil champion b.p. posting a loss last year of over $20000000000.00 and if you look at shell turnover there collapsing by 50 percent leaving the company with a pandemic based loss of almost $22000000000.00 now exxon plans to x. 15 percent of its workforce by the end of this year that's probably somewhere

around $10000.00 jobs it's also promising more change in its strategy including recently bringing on an activist investor to its board and its promising other activist investor groups that it's going to do more in the future now for more on this want to talk to derek conway he's legal counsel for climate focus that's an advisory group specializing in climate change and there joins me from amsterdam welcome to the show 1st of all. exxon has said that it believes that oil and gas are still viable in the decades ahead especially as other big oil majors focus on renewables that there's still area there for it it is their business case that it's made. well if we want to hit the climate targets that the world has agreed in the paris agreement the really isn't so we have very very little space for more oil and gas research has shown that even if we exploit all the oil and gas in the field currently in operation we already overshoot our targets so really oil and gas is yesterday's business and tomorrow's business is renewable energy green hydrogen and

electric vehicles now out there to some extent b.p. and shell have embraced renewables a bit and yet investors are really sold on them so why is that well i think firstly you know b.p. and shell they're taking baby steps towards renewables but it's really only a side business so far i mean their main business is oil and gas now they're gradually trying to step away but even there then they're doing it too slowly now unfortunately the regulatory frameworks in place are still favoring the incumbents they're still favor in oil and gas and their governments around the world are continually continuing to subsidize fossil fuels to a massive massive extent and certainly that's the case in the u.s. is a case here in europe and it's a case in a lot of major oil producing countries in the middle east china now swear all right so the business case needs to be helped along by the government you would say to what extent under a new administration the u.s. is that possible do you see any steps by the biden ministration that you believe

will help further that shift from oil majors. absolutely i think the buy demonstration has got off to a really positive start to me they're already announced they're going to stop giving new oil and gas leases on federal lands on public lands which is really positive fails that they're going to talk about seeing if they can phase out the existing oil and gas leases on public lands these are really positive steps they really need to be implemented in very fast so the by the ministration needs to move ahead with that they also need to ensure that the alternatives are in place ok so we do need energy and there are plenty full renewable energy sources but we need to have the record to fabrics in place so the by the ministration needs to move quickly to scale up or new with energy to scale up infrastructure for green hydrogen mass electrification of vehicles and at the same time it's really important is that they focus on a just transition so what that means is that there are going to be workers who are going to lose their jobs as we move towards a green economy and those workers 1st of all a social safety net in place for when they do lose their jobs but at the same time

those workers need to be retrained so they can find a place in the new low carbon economy all right a tough and likely expensive transition to a conway with climate focus thank you very much all right let's take a look now at some of the other global business stories making headlines u.s. president biden's pick to head a key economic position neera tanden has withdrawn her nomination to head the office of management and budget she faced strong opposition from republican senators for some controversial tweets she had sent in the past. us pharma giant meric will help make rival johnson and johnson's covert 19 vaccine in order to boost production of the one doe shot partnership will allow the company to accelerate delivery of 100000000 vaccine doses by around a month. spain's unemployment has passed the $4000000.00 mark in february jobless claims rose for the 5th consecutive month as pandemic restrictions gutted the country's tourism depended economy the official unemployment rate is now above

17 percent. from spain we go to the netherlands where we talk about lock downs in germany let's look at that country since october shops cafes and restaurants in the netherlands have been close to the lockdown laws there now that spring is on its way people are longing for a return to normality. cafe and bar owners in the dutch city of breda not far from the belgian border enough is enough all they could longs. for weeks now we've seen that the pox and the skate ring stuff full of people no one keeps a distance everyone's on top of each other events are being held in the city parks and i want to show that you can also open up here in a safe and good way i think we need to i think belgian neighbors are ready for it to go. all the countries lock down rules came into force in october and more than 4 months later did in place. plenty of customers took advantage of the protest to relive the good old days from before the pandemic

dozens of shopkeepers in the northern dutch city of closing of in also welcomed customers on choose day to protest against the lock down rules. shop and bar owners who open risk a 4000 euro fine under criminal record. the kind of not unusual think we're sumant won't come to that but suppose 100 shops will open today times 4000 euros i don't think people in the country will take that very well. that doesn't feel right when you're experiencing difficult times and you're crying for help for attention i don't think it's right to get a 4000 euro fine. i don't think that'll happen. to make up for. the protests lasted just a few hours after an official warning from the police led shopkeepers to close their doors again some foreigners held on to the bitter end.

for it that's it for me and the business team here in berlin as always you can find out more about these and other business stories online check us out at the to be dot com slash business i'm seeing there's a mix watching. clean drinking water for everyone. costa rica has made protecting its springs a top priority. the secret to their success. and efficient waste management program that carries everything to do their part. and it's paying off. 3000. d.w. . got some tips for your bucket list. corner

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