The economy of Germany while waiting on the Merkozy meeting
Posted By RichC on August 16, 2011
While listening for updates from the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today, a CNBC guest analyst made the observation that “If all countries were like Germany, Germany would not survive. Germany needs the weaker European countries to export to in order to prosper.” (paraphrased)
BTW, no news from the meeting as of lunch.
Preliminary figures from the statistics office said growth dropped to 0.1 percent in seasonally adjusted terms, dragged on by a negative trade balance, flagging consumption and weak construction investment.
The office also revised growth in the first three months of the year down to 1.3 percent, leading some economists to cut their 2011 and 2012 forecasts.
"The second quarter marks a turning point in the German business cycle," said Unicredit analyst Andreas Rees, lowering his 2011 forecast to 3 percent from 3.5 percent, and his 2012 forecast to 1.25 from 2 percent.
"The period of exuberant growth is now behind us," he said.
The sluggish German growth contributed to a sharp euro zone slowdown, raising fears that a longer-term dip could derail efforts to resolve the bloc’s debt crisis.
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