German Economy Appears Stable for Now

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany improved a bit, which must be a relief for those who believe that Europe’s largest economy by gross domestic product continues to move rapidly into recession. The measure increased by 22.6 points in December 2012. It now stands at a level of 6.9 points. Thus, the indicator is in positive territory for the first time since May 2012. In the report ZEW analysts wrote:

The indicator’s rise shows that the financial market experts expect the economic activity to stabilize until early summer 2013. Positive U.S. economic data may have contributed to this assessment. They may have spurred the hope that the global economy will gain momentum. Nevertheless, keeping in mind that the Indicator of Economic Sentiment currently hovers only marginally above the zero points-line, the German economy is rather likely to bottom out instead of already experiencing an upswing within the next six months.

And ZEW President Wolfgang Franz said:

The financial market experts forecast the development of the economic activity in 2013 with pre-Christmas optimism. Although the cooling down of the economic activity will last until the beginning of 2013, Germany will not have to face a recession. However, this only applies if the crises in the eurozone do not deepen once again.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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