Schadenfreude stirs in resilient Germany - by Ralph Atkins
Perhaps in New York or Washington it appears only a matter of time before the global financial storm batters the shores of countries such as Germany. But in Europe's biggest economy, it still seems safe to go bathing.Politicians in Berlin, meanwhile, discuss whether a return to full employment is possible; while joblessness is rising in the US, the latest figures showed Germany's unemployment rate falling to the lowest since 1992. Such confidence helps explain why the ECB remains relatively upbeat about overall prospects for the eurozone. Indeed, Germany's recent economic history has been the mirror image of the US's. Instead of enjoying a consumer and housing boom over the past decade, Germany has experienced a period of painful adjustment to the costs of reunification in the early 1990s and the effects of globalisation on a high-wage economy.
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