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Avoid the credit crisis: Put your money in Germany

Posted January 31, 2008

"To get a correct picture of Germany, don’t listen to what Germans say about their economy. They are consistently negative… To get a more accurate picture, check the economic stats and compare them with stats from other countries." — Antony Mueller

by Antony Mueller, Whiskey and Gunpowder

Baltimore – (TFN):  Maybe you've heard of Germany as the sick man of Europe. You may also have heard that the German economy is paralyzed by a web of strict labor laws.

In contrast, you may have heard less or nothing at all in the news that Germany has been the world’s export champion for the third time in a row — exporting more goods than China, or Japan, or the United States.

Private financial wealth in Germany rose to a new high in 2007. Employment is on the rise. No wonder the German stock market has been a top performer in recent years.

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I lived in Germany for much of my life, and I can assure you that the Germans are very self-critical. Unless it’s not the very best, it can’t be good. As long as there is room for improvement things deserve to be criticized.

I recommend that in order to get a correct picture of Germany, don’t listen to what Germans say about their economy. They are consistently negative. Also, don’t read German newspapers to learn about the German economy. They are always pessimistic. To get a more accurate picture, check the economic stats and compare them with stats from other countries.

It is true that after the end of the European unification boom in the late 1990s, the German economy experienced malaise until 2003. The high cost of unification put a huge burden on the people. Domestic demand was weak. Yet in these years of slow growth, German companies did their homework.

Today, the German industrial sector is at the top of the world when it comes to modern capital equipment. Infrastructure in East Germany has been brought up to Western standards.

German carmakers are household names. So are chemical and electronics multinationals like BASF and Siemens. But these large companies represent only a part of the German economy. Mid-sized companies are its backbone. These companies possess very specialized technological know-how. They are extremely competitive, and industrial companies all over the world seek their products. Read on to learn how mid-sized companies could save the German economy from falling prey to the U.S. credit collapse.

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