The German government is set to become one of the first in the world to impose strict limits and regulations on the practice of high-frequency trading (HFT), reported the New York Times on Monday, as concerns continue to grow over HFT impact on stock market volatility.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China for the second time this year, a reflection of China’s growing clout as Europe’s leaders grapple with the impact of the eurozone debt crisis. German officials say energy and climate issues, trade ties and the euro will top the agenda.
Germany’s debt cost is now at a record low, reported the Associated Press on Sunday, as investors continue to gobble up German bonds at “unnaturally low” – and sometimes even negative – interest rates for the ‘privilege’ to park their cash in Europe’s strongest economy.
Germany’s capital city, Berlin, could potentially be trillions of euros in debt, claimed a report by Reuters on Wednesday, after the village of Mittenwalde – just 30km away from Berlin’s city centre – uncovered a certificate of debt in its archives, which dated back to 1562.
Cash deposits in Germany rose year-on-year by 4.4 percent to 2.17 trillion euros ($2.73 trillion) in April, claimed figures by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday, with the rest of Europe continuing to withdraw savings from local banks into the eurozone’s safest market.
Immigration to Germany, the eurozone’s single largest economy, has reached its highest level in 16 years as residents from countries like Greece and Spain flee rising unemployment and weak economic prospects in their home countries.
According to data released by the Federal Statistics Office, there was 90 percent more immigrants to Germany from Greece in 2011 compared a year ago and 52 percent more from Spain in the same period.
Overall, Germany became home to an additional 958,000 people in 2011, accounting for a 20 percent increase from 2010.
U.K.’s Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has called on Germany to play a more active role in global military affairs, said Reuters on Tuesday, as Germany’s “historic reluctance” to engage in global military action was now hampering their international importance.
Ultimately, there can be no strong Germany without a stable eurozone; no stable eurozone without a strong Germany; and no global economic stability without both. Germans might not like their choices, but refusing the responsibility of leadership is one option that Germany does not have.
German investor confidence has leaped to a 10 month high, raising expectations and new hope for eurozone’s single largest economy. But most recent data shows that the German economy contracted slightly in the last quarter of 2011, while the euro area as a whole contacted during the same quarter, the first contraction since 2009.
The Mannheim-based ZEW economic think-tank’s monthly sentiment survey showed that business confidence rose to its highest level since April 2011, beating analysts’ expectations.
ZEW economist Marcus Kappler said:
The Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, is now 228 billion euros ($300.5 billion) in debt, reported The Telegraph on Wednesday, after using up its entire stock of private assets to prop up the eurozone’s financial system.
