Germans Bail Out Christmas With Biggest Splurge in Six Years
By - Nov 18, 2010 9:01 PM GMT-0200
Just as Germany’s government bails out its European partners, so the country’s consumers are leading the Christmas cheer.
Germans will spend 76.9 billion euros ($105 billion) in November and December, 2.5 percent more than last year and the strongest growth since 2004, according to the HDE retail association. Deloitte LLP also said retail spending will rise “slightly,” even as most of western Europe contracts.
“Germany is an island of bliss within a pessimistic Europe,” Peter Thormann, head of Deloitte’s consumer business in Germany, said in an interview. “I haven’t seen this for the last 10 years at least.”
The country’s jobless rate fell to an 18-year low in October, boosting consumer confidence at the start of a quarter when some retailers generate all their annual profit.
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Backgrounder: Antony Mueller: The German Economy
http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/germanys-stable-economy/
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