Go Deutsche for business

FOR THOSE OF US that can forgive and forget Germany’s 4-1 trouncing of England in last year’s World Cup, doing business with our German EU partner may spell good news in 2011.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office just released in the last couple of days show that Germany is the place to trade nowadays. Domestic investment in machinery last year was up nearly 10%, fuelling better than expected GDP growth figures. Domestic as well as healthy export growth led to the Germans posting a 3.6% rise in GDP in 2010 – far better than many of its western European neighbours.

Not only that, but trading with Germany is getting far less risky too. Federal insolvency statistics released this week for the period January to October 2010 showed business insolvencies numbering 26,966 – a year on year fall of 2.2%, but the decline in numbers is gathering pace; in October for instance, corporate insolvencies were down 12.8% on the previous October.

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