Germany: economic miracle or mirage?

Everyone is used to thinking of Germany as the eurozone’s powerhouse. But it may not be for much longer.

Everyone is used to thinking of Germany as the eurozone's powerhouse. But it may not be for much longer, says David Charter in The Times. Growth last year was a "solid but unspectacular" 1.7%, and this year forecasters expect 1.4%. A slowdown in China and emerging markets has undermined activity in the crucial export sector. Machinery sales to China fell by 6% last year. Selling more to slower-growing Europe and the US is unlikely to plug the gap.

Meanwhile, consumption, which has been driving growth recently, could be weakened by lower wages, which have started to fall in line with low inflation.

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Andrew Van Sickle
Editor, MoneyWeek

Andrew is the editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He grew up in Vienna and studied at the University of St Andrews, where he gained a first-class MA in geography & international relations.

After graduating he began to contribute to the foreign page of The Week and soon afterwards joined MoneyWeek at its inception in October 2000. He helped Merryn Somerset Webb establish it as Britain’s best-selling financial magazine, contributing to every section of the publication and specialising in macroeconomics and stockmarkets, before going part-time.

His freelance projects have included a 2009 relaunch of The Pharma Letter, where he covered corporate news and political developments in the German pharmaceuticals market for two years, and a multiyear stint as deputy editor of the Barclays account at Redwood, a marketing agency.

Andrew has been editing MoneyWeek since 2018, and continues to specialise in investment and news in German-speaking countries owing to his fluent command of the language.