NEWSLETTER of February 20, 2026

The following content has been added at finexpert:

ZIA Zentraler Immobilien Ausschuss
FRÜHJAHRSGUTACHTEN IMMOBILIENWIRTSCHAFT 2025 DES RATES DER IMMOBILIENWEISEN
Following the slump in construction activity and the decline in real estate prices, the market is now entering a new phase in which it is not yet clear whether it will be able to return to the strong growth of days gone by. The market will continue to present a mixed picture in 2026: construction activity will remain subdued as the decline in permits will be reflected in a delay in completions. At the same time, prices are rising again and investment in residential construction is slowly picking up again. In addition to the interest rate environment and overall economic development, the key question in the medium term will be the extent to which policymakers succeed in structurally improving the framework conditions for the housing market. The massive increase in construction and financing costs should be countered with active policies that address the central structural problems of the housing market. >more

KfW Research
VENTURE CAPITAL – MARKTTRENDS 2026
An analysis of financing activity on the venture capital market and the current mood among German investors reveals which technological developments are currently significant in Germany: artificial intelligence, dual-use/defense, and cybersecurity will play key roles in 2026. Investors also see high growth opportunities in the Internet of Things/robotics sector. Healthtech also remains highly relevant for the venture capital market. >more

BCG | UnternehmerTUM
WACHSTUMSPFADE FÜR DEUTSCHLAND: ROADMAP ZUR WETTBEWERBSFÄHIGEN HIGHTECH-NATION
Today, technology is no longer just a question of economic value creation, but also of regional and national sovereignty, security, and the ability to act. In a world of fragmented supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and accelerated technological cycles, technological competence and scaling determine who sets standards, controls dependencies, and secures long-term prosperity. For Germany, this is about more than growth: it is about strategic autonomy in key areas of the future. The economic potential of the technologies described in the High-Tech Agenda Germany is considerable. By 2030, the serviceable addressable market (SAM) for Germany will amount to around 1.7 trillion euros in the six key technologies of the High-Tech Agenda. >more

Allianz Research
EUROPE’S HOUSEHOLDS AFTER THE RATE SHOCK: A WINDFALL FOR SOME, A SQUEEZE FOR OTHERS
When the European Central Bank began lifting interest rates in July 2022, it set off a quiet redistribution of wealth across the Eurozone’s households. Higher rates rewarded savers and punished borrowers as deposit rates on new business jumped +301bps to 3.32% by late-2023, faster than lending rates (+258bps). Households reacted swiftly, shifting out of sight deposits into term deposits, whose outstanding volume nearly doubled to almost EUR2trn by end-2024. Yet as the ECB began cutting again in June 2024, the balance of gains and losses started to shift once more. >more

THE VALUE OF CORPORATE PATENT UTILIZATION
Jarrad Harford, Qiyang He, and Buhui Qiu
2025
We use textual analysis of firm patent and product filings to construct a novel measure of patent utilization rate, which reflects the extent to which a firm's patents are applied in new products. We find that new products supported by more patents receive higher announcement returns and are more likely to be breakthrough products. Our firm-level patent utilization rate is positively associated with future new product development, market share growth, profitability, and firm valuation. The effects are predominantly driven by the utilization of high-value patents, and are more pronounced for firms in competitive product markets. We address endogeneity concerns using R&D tax credits as instruments and demonstrate robust findings across various tests. Our findings underscore the detrimental consequences of patent underutilization for firms and highlight the importance of integrating patents into the product development pipeline. >more

DUE DILIGENCE AND THE ALLOCATION OF VENTURE CAPITAL
Xiaoyong (Jack) Fu, and Lucian A. Taylor
2025
How do investors choose the intensity of their due diligence, and how does that choice affect investment outcomes? Using cell phone signal data, we measure the duration of pre-investment meetings between venture capitalists (VCs) and startup employees. This measure captures one important component of VC due diligence. Less due diligence is associated with hotter deals and markets, busier investors, and greater distance, consistent with a theory of costly learning. Also consistent with that theory, less due diligence is associated with more volatile investment performance, as VCs allocate capital under greater uncertainty. Overall, VCs appear to trade off the costs of due diligence with its improvements to capital allocation. >more