Throughout the economic concerns and debt crises, Germany has always managed to keep its head above water, and sometimes thrive, despite the area’s hardships. Not anymore.
In 2011, German exports increased dramatically while employment levels improved, wages rose and real estate climbed to altogether new heights. Near-balance of the federal budget and other positive signs encouraged consumer confidence and thus spending.
Its tactics and economy were resilient no matter what the situation. So much so, in fact, that Germany was a primary reason for debates on saving the euro, bail-outs and checking the European Central Bank. No more.
According to Wolf Richter, writing for Business Insider, the crisis has “moved from Germany’s front yard to its doorstep and is about to enter its living room.”
He explains:
“Beer sales, for example. That the German Federal Statistical Office tracks them shows just how crucial a staple beer is. Alas, beer sales to customers in Germany dropped 2.3% in the first half over the same period last year, and ominously, exports dropped 2.9% [for the worldwide beer phenomenon, beer consumption per capita, and where the growth really is, read…. Beer, A Reflection Of The World Economy?
Auto sales got clobbered in July, dropping by 5% from July last year, and by 16.5% from June, knocking year-to-date sales, which had been holding up well, into the red (-0.1%). Auto sales have been a fiasco in the Eurozone for a while. In Greece, where they’d been plummeting for years, they plummeted again in the first half, by 41.3%! In Italy, by 19.7%, in France by 14.4%, in Belgium by 12.7%. But until July, Germany had been spared. No more. Of the big brands, only Audi (Volkswagen) was up (+14.3%). The others got hammered: Opel (GM) -18.6%, BMW, Mini -17.9 %, Mercedes -14.6 %, and Ford -4.4%. Even VW, market-share leader and on a phenomenal worldwide roll, was down 1.5%.”
He adds that retail sales, the manufacturing industry and several other German sectors have taken hard hits. Still, Germans have assured inquirers that all is still ‘relaxed’ and the pressure is not yet felt in everyday life.
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