Dear Readers, in a few weeks, the new decade will begin. The last decade has been shaped by the disappearance of interest rates, the outstanding performance of the US equity market and the recognition that the world has a real problem with climate change. This is the starting point for strategic thinking on the 2020s. Thinking ahead, global warming will remain the greatest socio-political challenge. We see a halfway realistic hope in the "self-defeating prophecy". If the lung doctor says to the chain smoker: "You will die at the age of 50", this could shake the smoker to such an extent that he radically stops smoking - and turns 70. Only in this way will there perhaps still be a chance to refute the terrible and correct forecast of a climate...

Friday after Friday, pupils and students from all over the world, inspired by the Swede Greta Thunberg, will take to the streets to fight for a future in which global warming will be limited to two degrees, better still to 1.5 degrees. Unlike many "political professionals", the young generation has understood exactly what needs to be done. It is about drastically less consumption and a fair global burden sharing. Above all, we must ensure that 98 percent of fossil fuel reserves remain in the soil. Otherwise it won't help if we save here in Europe (page 114 of the print edition). The industrial nations will have to pay just as much for this as for the preservation of the CO2 sink in the rainforest. How this should work in a world that is...

There is only one topic in the financial community at the moment: Has the global upswing in stock prices that has lasted since 2009 come to an end and will we have to adjust to falling prices, a bear market, in the future? However, this discussion always relates to the major indices. Wer takes a closer look, it recognizes that the bear has already struck in large parts of the market long ago. The share prices of dozens of well-known companies are 40 to 60 percent below their highs at ersten Halbjahr. Among them are many that belong to the crème de la crème of German industry - Bayer, Covestro, Siltronic, Osram, Schaeffler, Wacker Chemie and many, many more. Anglo-Saxons speak in this case of a Stealth Bear Market - a bear, which rages under...

while everyone's worried about the Atlantic, disaster threatens our own front door. It's about the euro. When Germany agreed to monetary union, the rules were clearly defined. No Member State is liable for the liabilities of the other. The central bank is prohibited from directly acquiring government bonds. And they all commit themselves to respecting deficit limits.

The current issue of "How to invest it" focuses on our annual meeting with the Lerbacher Runde. An exclusive circle of bankers, family officers, asset managers and economists will discuss the perspectives for the economy, monetary policy and capital markets intensively for one day. Carefully balances opportunities and risks. And then defines a suitable, long-term investment strategy for wealthy private investors. True to our motto: Every private wealth story must be conceived in such a way that it will still be relevant in one or two years, but this time in the discussion with the Lerbach Round Table we have reached the limits of this resolution in some points.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, there are situations where these old film frames appear. From second hands that sneak slowly but relentlessly in the direction of twelve o'clock. Where everyone knows that soon, very soon something important has to decide. The next year has a high-noon moment like this in store. The focus is on Europe. For a long time it looked as if the economy in Euroland would get its act together. For a few months now, however, the leading indicators have been pointing clearly downwards again. Is the recession coming back?