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Lindner plans to lift self-imposed limits on borrowing and present a supplementary budget next week after a constitutional court ruling wiped billions from the federal budget and forced the government to freeze most new spending commitments. HANDS TIED IN A BOXING MATCHThe crisis has sparked calls for reforming the debt brake. "With the debt brake as it is, we have voluntarily tied our hands behind our backs and are going into a boxing match. A poll by the broadcaster ZDF suggested only a minority of Germans, 35%, supported suspending the debt brake however, compared to 61% wanting it to stay in place. Some 57% wanted the budget shortfall from the court ruling to be covered by spending cuts, 11% favoured tax increases and 23% wanted the state to take on additional debt.

Persons: Christian Lindner, Lindner, hawkish Lindner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Robert Habeck, Habeck, Thomas Gitzel, Holger Hansen, Christian Kraemer, Miranda Murray, Rene Wagner, Matthias Williams, Toby Chopra Organizations: BERLIN, German Finance, Greens, ZDF, Bank, Thomson Locations: Germany, China, Europe

☆ Germany's economy shrinks slightly in third quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Germany's economy shrank slightly in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, data from its statistics office showed on Friday. The figure confirmed an initial estimate, published in late October, that saw Europe's largest economy shrink by 0.1%. In the second quarter, Germany's economy had grown by 0.1% after stagnating in the first three months of the year. Private consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of GDP, was 0.3% lower than in the previous quarter, the statistics office said. The Bundesbank said in its monthly economic report on Monday that the German economy will likely shrink again in the fourth quarter and show signs of slight improvement early next year.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Ruth Brand, Thomas Gitzel, Miranda Murray, Linda Pasquini, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Bank, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

A steel worker of ThyssenKrupp stands amid sparks of raw iron coming from a blast furnace at a ThyssenKrupp steel factory in Duisburg, western Germany, November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Nov 7 (Reuters) - German industrial production fell more than expected in September, data showed on Tuesday, as a recent slump in incoming orders took its toll on production. There are few figures that summarise the state of the German economy as well as industrial production, Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, said. "The industry-heavy German economy is dependent on production in order to achieve reasonable economic growth rates," he said, noting that industrial production this year has been weak. "Even though there isn’t any hard data for the fourth quarter yet, recent developments have clearly increased the risk that the German economy will end the year in recession," Brzeski said.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Thomas Gitzel, Carsten Brzeski, Brzeski, Maria Martinez, Miranda Murray, Rachel More Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, VP Bank, ING, Thomson Locations: ThyssenKrupp, Duisburg, Germany

☆ German industrial orders fall more than expected in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A steel worker of ThyssenKrupp stands amid sparks of raw iron coming from a blast furnace at a ThyssenKrupp steel factory in Duisburg, western Germany, November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - German industrial orders fell more than expected in July, pulling back after a sharp gain in the aerospace sector the previous month, the federal statistics office said on Wednesday. Incoming orders fell by 11.7% on the previous month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis. A turnaround is not in sight due to the weak global economy and high energy costs." Excluding large-scale orders, industrial orders would have increased by 0.3% in July.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Thomas Gitzel, Alexander Krueger, Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe, Friederike Heine, Miranda Murray, Maria Sheahan, Raju gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, VP Bank Group, Thomson Locations: ThyssenKrupp, Duisburg, Germany

☆ German exports fall less-than-expected 0.9% in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 4 (Reuters) - German exports fell a less-than-expected 0.9% in July from a month earlier as global demand continued to falter, data from the federal statistics office showed on Monday. "Trade is no longer the strong resilient growth driver of the German economy that it used to be, but rather a drag," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macroeconomics at ING. Imports rose 1.4% on the month, the data showed. German export expectations have deteriorated slightly due to weak foreign demand, an Ifo survey showed in August. "As long as the global economic environment remains weak, German exports will also remain depressed," said Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank.

Persons: Phil Noble, Carsten Brzeski, Brzeski, Bastian Hepperle, Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe, Thomas Gitzel, Maria Martinez, Friederike Heine, Alex Richardson, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, ING . Supply, European Union, VP Bank, Thomson Locations: Hamburg, Germany, China, Hauck

Summary German inflation falls modestly in JulyStronger declines expected starting in SeptemberCore inflation easesBERLIN, July 28 (Reuters) - German inflation fell in July, resuming the decline since the start of the year that was interrupted the previous month due to the base effects in June's data. Although inflation fell in July, economists called the pace of decline sluggish mainly due to the comparison with last year. By comparison, inflation fell to 5.0% in France and it rose to 2.1% in Spain. Italian and euro zone inflation data is due on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters expect euro zone inflation to fall to 5.2% in July from 5.5% in June.

Persons: Ralph Solveen, Thomas Gitzel, Maria Martinez, Miranda Murray, Rachel More, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Union, Analysts, Reuters, European Central Bank, VP Bank Group, ECB, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, France, Spain, Germany

☆ May retail sales bump in Germany not here to stay - analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 30 (Reuters) - German retail sales rose more than expected in May from the previous month, data showed on Friday, though analysts said the surprise rise does not indicate a change in depressed spending. The Federal Statistics Office said retail sales were up 0.4% month-on-month in real terms, beating expectations by analysts polled by Reuters that sales would remain unchanged. Compared with May 2022, sales fell 3.6% in real terms. "Even if May surprised us with an increase in retail sales and April also proved robust, the basic constellation of weak private consumption will change little for the time being," said VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel, who predicted that retail sales will fall again in June compared with the month before. Alexander Krueger, chief economist at Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe private bank, said consumers were still putting the brakes on spending due to real income losses.

Persons: Thomas Gitzel, Alexander Krueger, Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe, Rene Wagner, Andrey Sychev, Miranda Murray, Maria Sheahan, Friederike Heine Our Organizations: Federal Statistics Office, Reuters, Bank, Thomson

☆ Sterling volatile, Norwegian crown surges and Swiss franc falls on rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 to raise its main interest rate to 5% from 4.5%, its highest since 2008 and its largest rate increase since February. SWISS FRANCThe Swiss franc fell after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) hiked its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.75%, defying some market expectations of a bigger increase. However, economists polled by Reuters had expected the SNB to hike rates by 25 bps. The Swiss franc fell 0.15% to 0.8942 against the dollar, moving away from a six-week high it touched last week. In an attempt to curb inflation, Norges Bank raised interest rates to 3.75%, sending the crown more than 1% higher both against the euro and dollar.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BoE, Sterling, BOE, Paul Oberschneider, Alex Livingstone, Thomas Jordan, Thomas Gitzel, POWELL, Jerome Powell, Joice Alves, Alexander Smith, Conor Humphries Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Norges Bank, Swiss, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, MPC, Reuters, Hilltop Credit Partners, Trading, Titan Asset Management, SWISS, ECB, European Central Bank, Fed, Federal, Bank Group, bps, Bank, Capitol, The U.S, Thomson Locations: Norwegian, London, Liechtenstein, NORWEGIAN, The, Asia, Hong Kong, China

☆ German exports rise significantly more than expected in February
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - German exports rose significantly more than expected in February due to strong demand from the United States and China, posting their biggest increase in 10 months, data showed on Tuesday. Exports increased by 4.0% on the previous month, the federal statistics office said. A Reuters poll had predicted a month-on-month rise in exports of 1.6%. In February, exports to European Union countries rose 2.0% on the previous month, while exports to the U.S. and China increased by 9.4% and 10.2% respectively compared with January. Despite the increase, export demand still lacks momentum, Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo, said.

☆ German public sector wage talks fail, enter truce phase
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - German public sector employers and unions representing around 2.5 million workers entered a truce phase on Thursday after talks failed to resolve a wage dispute, days after the country's biggest strikes in decades. A third round of negotiations lasting three days ended late on Wednesday without result, the Verdi and dbb unions said. "Despite clear movement, the employers were not prepared to make sufficient concessions to the employees on the minimum amount," said Verdi chief Frank Werneke. The Interior Ministry announced on Twitter in the early hours of Thursday that the talks would enter arbitration, bringing an independent mediator to the table. Public sector employers have offered an 8% pay raise, or a minimum of 300 euros ($325) per month, Faeser said.

☆ German retail sales post shock fall in December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 31 (Reuters) - German retail sales unexpectedly fell in December, as a Christmas shopping period weighed down by high inflation and the energy crisis revived fears of a more marked slowdown in Europe's largest economy this winter, data showed on Tuesday. Retail sales decreased by 5.3% in December compared with the previous month, the federal statistics office said. Retail sales also fell year-on-year in December by 6.4% in real terms, the office said"Just before Christmas, retailers in German city centres missed the big rush," said VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel. The federal statistics office publishes more detailson retail sales on its website. Reporting by Miranda Murray and Friederike Heine, editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German industrial orders fall more than expected in November
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 6 (Reuters) - German industrial orders saw their sharpest drop in more than a year in November on falling foreign demand, decreasing by 5.3% on the month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, the federal statistics office said on Friday. A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a 0.5% fall, after a downwardly revised rise of 0.6% in October. Orders from eurozone countries slumped by 10.3% on the month, while those from outside the eurozone fell by 6.8%. "This shows how strongly the high energy prices are weighing on the eurozone," said VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel. The statistics office publishes a statement with more economic data.

☆ German retail sales fall in October as inflation takes hold
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - German retail sales fell more-than-expected in October, data showed on Thursday, as inflation had consumers holding back on non-essential purchases at the start of the fourth quarter. Retail sales were down 2.8% on the month in October, a further drop than the 0.6% dip in price-adjusted terms expected by analysts polled by Reuters. Compared with October 2021, retail sales were down 5.0%. Germany's HDE retail association is forecasting the strongest slump in Christmas sales since 2007, with retail sales in the crucial November-December period seen dropping by 4% year-on-year on a price-adjusted basis. The German economy grew by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter on the back of consumer spending, despite rising inflation rates that hit the double digits in September.

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