Finance Matters

Posts Tagged ‘revised’

Official data has revealed unemployment in Germany dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years in September.

The country’s unemployment rate fell from August’s rate of 7% to 6.6%.

Unemployment now stands at 2.79 million – the first time since 1992 that the jobless total has been below 2.8 million.

It was also much better than economists had expected.

The country’s unemployment rate continues to fall and its job market has performed much better than in many other countries and many believe it is the result of the “Kurzarbeit” scheme, introduced by the German Government, designed to prevent mass redundancies.

Last year, Germany’s unemployment rate plunged to 7.7% from 8.2% in 2009 as a result of the Government initiative.

Many economists believe that Germany’s economic recovery appears to have enough “domestic stamina” to prevent a recession.”

However, despite the strong data, the economy, which is the euro zone’s largest, continues to suffer amid the ongoing debt crisis.

Germany, which has been regarded as Europe’s powerhouse, has been driving the recovery of the euro zone but a recent slew of weak data has forced many to re-evaluate its assessment of the economy.

Statistics office Destatis recently revealed German exports fell more than expected in July.

According to Destatis, exports fell by 1.8% in July on a monthly basis compared with a 1.2% drop in June. Economists had forecast a 0.1% fall for the month.

The sharp fall in exports will be of grave concern for the country’s Government. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – much sooner than many of its counterparts throughout the world.

The Washington-based International Monetary Fund recently lowered its growth forecasts for both Germany and the euro zone this year and next.

It expects Germany’s economy to grow 2.7% this year and 1.3% in 2012.

Official data has revealed unemployment in Germany dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years in September.

The country’s unemployment rate fell from August’s rate of 7% to 6.6%.

Unemployment now stands at 2.79 million – the first time since 1992 that the jobless total has been below 2.8 million.

It was also much better than economists had expected.

The country’s unemployment rate continues to fall and its job market has performed much better than in many other countries and many believe it is the result of the “Kurzarbeit” scheme, introduced by the German Government, designed to prevent mass redundancies.

Last year, Germany’s unemployment rate plunged to 7.7% from 8.2% in 2009 as a result of the Government initiative.

Many economists believe that Germany’s economic recovery appears to have enough “domestic stamina” to prevent a recession.”

However, despite the strong data, the economy, which is the euro zone’s largest, continues to suffer amid the ongoing debt crisis.

Germany, which has been regarded as Europe’s powerhouse, has been driving the recovery of the euro zone but a recent slew of weak data has forced many to re-evaluate its assessment of the economy.

Statistics office Destatis recently revealed German exports fell more than expected in July.

According to Destatis, exports fell by 1.8% in July on a monthly basis compared with a 1.2% drop in June. Economists had forecast a 0.1% fall for the month.

The sharp fall in exports will be of grave concern for the country’s Government. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – much sooner than many of its counterparts throughout the world.

The Washington-based International Monetary Fund recently lowered its growth forecasts for both Germany and the euro zone this year and next.

It expects Germany’s economy to grow 2.7% this year and 1.3% in 2012.

Official data has revealed unemployment in Germany dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years in September.

The country’s unemployment rate fell from August’s rate of 7% to 6.6%.

Unemployment now stands at 2.79 million – the first time since 1992 that the jobless total has been below 2.8 million.

It was also much better than economists had expected.

The country’s unemployment rate continues to fall and its job market has performed much better than in many other countries and many believe it is the result of the “Kurzarbeit” scheme, introduced by the German Government, designed to prevent mass redundancies.

Last year, Germany’s unemployment rate plunged to 7.7% from 8.2% in 2009 as a result of the Government initiative.

Many economists believe that Germany’s economic recovery appears to have enough “domestic stamina” to prevent a recession.”

However, despite the strong data, the economy, which is the euro zone’s largest, continues to suffer amid the ongoing debt crisis.

Germany, which has been regarded as Europe’s powerhouse, has been driving the recovery of the euro zone but a recent slew of weak data has forced many to re-evaluate its assessment of the economy.

Statistics office Destatis recently revealed German exports fell more than expected in July.

According to Destatis, exports fell by 1.8% in July on a monthly basis compared with a 1.2% drop in June. Economists had forecast a 0.1% fall for the month.

The sharp fall in exports will be of grave concern for the country’s Government. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – much sooner than many of its counterparts throughout the world.

The Washington-based International Monetary Fund recently lowered its growth forecasts for both Germany and the euro zone this year and next.

It expects Germany’s economy to grow 2.7% this year and 1.3% in 2012.

The Commerce Department has revealed the world’s largest economy grew by 1.3% on an annual basis in the April to June period – higher than an initial estimate of 1%.

The figure was also slightly higher than analysts’ expectations of 1.2% and follows a 0.4% growth rate in the first quarter of the year.

The upward revision was attributed to higher exports and strong spending and is the final figure for the second quarter.

For the first six months of the year, the economy expanded by 0.9% – this represented the lowest rate of growth in over two years.

Third quarter growth figures will be available next month and analysts are predicting an annualised growth rate of around 2%.

The US economy is struggling on the back of high unemployment and a depressed housing market.

Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, warned that the US economy is facing a national crisis due to its high unemployment rate, which currently stands at 9.1%.

Earlier this month, the US Labor Department revealed the economy added no new jobs last month, which was a surprise after markets had expected 70,000 new jobs.

This represented the first time since 1945 that there has been a zero payrolls figure after 17,000 jobs were added in the private sector last month but these were cancelled out by 17,000 jobs lost in the public sector.

Mr Bernanke is urging the Government to assist the long-term unemployment and suggested that Congress should take more action to address the issue.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama addressed the nation about a plan for job creation. He unveiled a $450 billion (£282 billion) package aimed at boosting the economy and reducing the federal deficit.

The bill includes tax cuts to workers and small businesses to boost job creation.

Mr Obama has previously said job creation is a top priority; continued high unemployment could threaten his prospects for re-election next year.

In the meantime, Mr Bernanke urged policymakers to introduce “housing policies” to boost the property market, which is currently struggling and many have suggested it is holding back the recovery.

Demand for housing in the US remains weak, despite mortgage rates hovering at record lows and falling house prices – the latter due to millions of home repossessions.

The Munich-based Ifo think tank has today revealed confidence among German firms fell for the third consecutive month in September.

The closely-watched Business Climate Index dipped to 107.5 this month from August’s reading of 108.7 – this represented the lowest level since June 2010.

However, the fall was not as bad as the 106.5 economists had expected.

The fall was attributed to the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone which could impact on the wider economy.

Ifo surveys around 7,000 German manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail companies each month.

Commenting on the data, Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said: “The business expectations for the coming half year once more deteriorated markedly.”

However, one analyst said the figures suggest that Germany will not fall into a recession.

Meanwhile, a sub-index on expectations also edged lower to 117.9 from 118.1 in August – but again this was less than forecast.

Germany, which has been regarded as Europe’s powerhouse, has been driving the recovery of the euro zone but a recent slew of weak data has forced many to re-evaluate its assessment of the economy.

Statistics office Destatis recently revealed German exports fell more than expected in July.

According to Destatis, exports fell by 1.8% in July on a monthly basis compared with a 1.2% drop in June. Economists had forecast a 0.1% fall for the month.

The sharp fall in exports will be of grave concern for the country’s Government. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – much sooner than many of its counterparts throughout the world.

Last week, the European Commission slashed its growth forecasts for the euro zone and warned that the 17-member nation may come “close to standstill at year-end.”

Furthermore, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund recently lowered its growth forecasts for both Germany and the euro zone this year and next.

It expects Germany’s economy to grow 2.7% this year and 1.3% in 2012.