The outlook for the German economy has deteriorated over the last month. Although, the high level of sick leave and supply bottlenecks have noticeably eased, GDP has not yet returned to an expansionary course. Business surveys indicate that economic momentum will remain weak in the second half...

The German economy navigates troubled waters. The catch-up process in the contact-intensive service industries is continuing at a fast pace and companies in the manufacturing sector are sitting on wellfilled order books. However, high inflation is reducing the purchasing power of disposable...

The economic situation in the euro area continues to be weak. In the course of 2003, real GDP has only stagnated. Several factors prevented the expected recovery to materialize. Last year’s collapse of stock prices dampened activity, so did the high oil price. In addition, the uncertainty in...