27 May 2025 – Stainless steel and steel scrap prices are currently showing signs of recovery. Asian stainless steel scrap prices even rose by almost 5% in May. And on the break-up of thyssenkrupp: When politics becomes too intrusive and it’s teachers against CEOs.
Stainless steel and steel scrap prices are rising again
After steel scrap prices suffered a setback at the end of April 2025, they largely moved sideways in May and have shown upward potential again in recent days. Scrap dealers expect the market to brighten further in June and prices to rise.
Stainless steel scrap prices rising
Asian stainless steel scrap prices have also improved significantly since the end of April, rising by more than 4.6%. Since January, prices for 304 stainless scrap have even risen by almost 10%.
Thyssenkrupp: When politics becomes too intrusive
It is disturbing when a qualified teacher of history, social sciences and Catholic religion, who has not taught since 2010 due to his political career, describes a qualified business economist and MBA who has worked in the private sector for decades as the ‘worst manager in Germany’.
The press release issued by the SPD parliamentary group in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) yesterday (Monday) states verbatim: ‘What we had always suspected would come true: namely that Miguel Lopez is the worst manager there is in Germany.’ A quote that the SPD attributes to Jochen Ott (51), chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the NRW state parliament. A comment that could be described as offensive.
Teacher against chairman of the board
In this case, Jochen Ott is the teacher with a political career and sees his issues more in education, affordable housing and the topic of family and the accused manager is Miguel Lopez, CEO of the ailing conglomerate thyssenkrupp AG since June 2023.
Background: thyssenkrupp Group could be split up
The background to this accusation by the SPD politician: According to media reports, the division of the thyssenkrupp Group, which has been stumbling for years with around 100,000 employees worldwide, and the reorganisation of the parent company into a financial holding company is on the table. thyssenkrupp is probably best known as Germany’s largest steel maker and one of the largest recipients of state subsidies – most recently €2 billion from the federal and state governments for the green transformation and the production of green steel, which may never be economically viable.
Lack of expertise in entrepreneurial decisions
The SPD parliamentary group leader’s exclamation shows once again how social democratic professional politicians presume to evaluate business decisions for which they obviously lack the professional expertise. And why such mindsets and comments are part of the cause of Germany’s economic haemorrhaging.
Of course, this is not to rule out the possibility that, as a politician, you can acquire the economic expertise over the years to be able to make such an assessment. But Mr Ott’s CV is more than clearly lacking in this respect. Moreover, Mr Ott had previously positioned himself as critical of capitalism.
In contrast, entrepreneurs prove every day that they can acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to advance their company and their own employees – regardless of their educational background or previous career path. In doing so, they make decisions, sometimes to the advantage, sometimes to the disadvantage of their own company. Whether a decision is the right one at the right time, however, always remains speculative.
But in the end it could be said: ‘that was the fault of the worst politician there is’
And if the owner of thyssenkrupp believes that the best way forward is to split the Group into individual enterprises in order to make the Group as a whole fit for the future, then the employed CEO Miguel Lopez has a duty to implement this.
Otherwise, politicians may just continue to pump taxpayers’ money into a corporate juggernaut that is far too big and obviously almost impossible to manage, and which has only been held together by trade unions and social democrats. And then it could turn out to be true that in the end it will be said: ‘that was the fault of the worst politician there is in Germany.’ (editor’s note: unfortunately, this politician will not be held accountable)
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