Despite the worst economic crisis since 1945, German consumers are ever more confident in the future and increasingly willing to part with their hard-earned cash, a closely watched survey showed yesterday.
The GfK research group said its forward-looking consumer confidence index for next month rose to 3.5 points from a revised 3 points this month.
A sub-index measuring consumers’ willingness to buy rose dramatically to 25.1 points from 14.5 points last month and from minus 26.2 in August last year.
The institute said low inflation had made consumers more eager to rush out and make purchases, as well as a relatively stable labor market, despite the crisis.
Unemployment figures would play a key role in the future development of consumer sentiment, GfK said in a statement.
“A long-lasting stabilization of the consumer climate will depend on how the labor market develops in the future. If the unemployment figures climb high in late autumn, this will be a test for consumer confidence,” GfK said.
The survey is the latest to suggest that Europe’s top economy could be rebounding from its worst slowdown in recent history.
A study by Ernst and Young that came out in Die Welt daily yesterday showed that two out of three firms in Germany believed the economy would improve by next year, rising to nearly eight in 10 companies seeing a brighter future by 2011.
Moreover, 54 percent of the businesses polled said that Germany was likely to emerge stronger after the crisis than it was before.
On Friday, a closely watched survey by the Ifo institute, measuring the mood among German firms, rose for the fourth month running this month.
Nevertheless, the government still sees Germany — one of the world’s top exporters — shrinking by a record 6 percent this year.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a