Germany economy stalls out

[pscot]

HongKong had negative growth last quarter too. Signs of the times.

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Germany’s economic growth nearly ground to a halt in the second quarter, highlighting fears that the so-called Wirtschaftswunder in Europe’s largest economy may be coming to an end.

Gross domestic product rose 0.1% in the April-June quarter from the preceding three months, the German statistics institute reported Tuesday, citing seasonally adjusted data. The figures mark a sharp slowdown after German GDP expanded 1.3% in the first quarter.

Click to Play Euroview: SNB should think twice about franc pegPegging the franc against the euro might create more problems for the SNB than it solves.

“The German economy, accustomed to success, is unable to decouple from slowing global economic growth,” said Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank AG, in a note.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-growth-nearly-grinds-to-a-halt-2011-08-16

[elleng]

1. Really bad news, but no big surprise, I think.

Like it or not, its a global thing.