Free Republic

On Monday, the country recorded that imports outstripped exports for more than 30 years. Its entire economy has been built around creating an industrial machine that dominates global markets. That machine is now grinding to a halt. Exports unexpectedly fell, while imports surged as the cost of energy spiked. Until recently it was racking up surpluses of 8 or 9 per cent of GDP, or €20 billion a month, the biggest in the world. The German economy is based on selling high-end industrial goods to the rest of the world. Unlike many other countries, it doesn’t have huge service industries...

German Foreign Orders Plunge...Again by Robert Brusca January 6, 2012 German orders are losing momentum again and rapidly after a false signal of a pause in the unraveling as of October. Orders in October had surged by 5% (M-o-M) and a surge of that degree blunted a lot of downward momentum that had seemed to be in train as October posted a very powerful one-month gain. Yet, now, in the light of the 4.8% drop in November and the September drop of 4.6%, we are left instead with a legacy of extreme volatility and of clearly waning momentum in what...

The developed world has not shaken off the risk of sliding into a deflation trap, experts warned after new figures showed that prices in both the eurozone and the US are falling. Consumer prices in America slipped by 2.1pc in the year to July, according to official data released yesterday. It coincided with Eurostat figures showing that the eurozone's consumer price index dropped by 0.7pc in the past year, compared with deflation of 0.1pc in June. The figures underline concerns that despite the sharp rebound in a variety of economic indicators, and despite news that France and Germany have both...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Already saddled with one of the weakest growth rates in Europe, Germany seems to be headed for a fiscal tightening that could kill off a tentative recovery and undermine the fragile new government poised to put it in place.As coalition talks between the country's conservatives and Social Democrats entered their final week, all signs were pointing to a messy compromise on financial policy that would see value-added tax and rates for top-earners increased. The additional government revenues that result from these measures seem destined to plug holes in Germany's troublesome budget, rather than cutting payroll costs --...

GORDON Brown insists there is no such thing as a “window of opportunity” for joining the euro. He won’t risk a leap in the dark simply because a row of traffic lights happen to show green for a few minutes. Yet this is exactly what Tony Blair wants the Chancellor to do when he announces the results of his famous “five tests” on convergence next month. Mr Blair believes Britain’s political destiny lies in the single currency — whatever the economic risks. Mr Brown knows the euro is a one-way bet. Once in, there’s no way back. If it all...

The outlook for the German public deficit has worsened sharply and the government will have to change its forecast accordingly, Finance Minister Hans Eichel told the Die Welt newspaper. Eichel, asked in an interview about Germany's ability to reduce its public deficit this year to below the ceiling of 3.0 percent of output as required by the euro-zone Stability and Growth Pact, replied: "Conditions have deteriorated sharply." The government would "review and adapt its forecasts for public finances", he said. The newspaper reported that the Socialist government headed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is facing a sharp reduction of tax revenue,...

FRANKFURT, Germany Feb. 5 — Germany's jobless rate climbed to 11 percent in January, leaving a record 4.62 million people jobless, the country's federal labor office said Wednesday. The new rate is up from 10.1 percent in December and is the highest since Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder started his first term in 1998. The number of unemployed surpassed the previous high of 4.46 million in February 1999 and was up from 4.25 million jobless in December. The total is 333,000 more than a year ago. Labor Office President Florian Gerster said the first signs of economic stabilization had yet to reach...