BBC - AND EVERYONE ELSE: German economic growth slows sharplyIn summertime Berlin, the streets are quiet and the cafes are full. "The effects of this crisis are imperceptible here," a Berliner said.
BERLIN — There is no one whose thoughts European officials would rather read than Chancellor Angela Merkel, who meets Tuesday at the Élysée Palace with France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, as they struggle to find a lasting solution to the European debt crisis.
The most common critique of Mrs. Merkel is that she lacks the necessary sense of urgency to restore confidence in the euro and calm the crisis. But a stroll through summertime Berlin makes clear why she remains so cool-headed. While the latest official figures on Tuesday showed German economic growth almost stalling in the second quarter, slowing growth across the euro zone, he streets are quiet and the cafes are full. Deeply tanned residents are returning to their jobs after vacations in fiscally compromised nations, like and Portugal.
Germany may be the only European nation that is large enough and rich enough to cover the debts of its struggling neighbors, but its citizens are reluctant to be the source of the bailout. Germany is in many ways in the eye of the storm, with barely a hint of the winds swirling nearby.
Growth in the German economy slowed sharply between April and June and was weaker at the start of the year than previously thought, figures show.
The economy grew by just 0.1% in the quarter, according to figures from the national statistics office. Growth in the eurozone as a whole also slowed.
Germany had been driving the economic recovery in the eurozone.
HET NYTIMES: GREAT ANALYSIS ! GREAT TIMING! BWAHAHAHA!
THE EUROZONE IS IN A VIRTUAL RECESSION AGAIN - JUST LIKE THE USA. SIGH.
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