A swirl of stormy economic clouds are gathering over Europe's powerhouse, Germany, painting a gloomy forecast for the final quarter of the year. The cheery summer days of the same level of economic growth and contraction have faded into a chilly autumnal reality of an inevitable shrink in the economy.
The month of November began with the ominous pronouncement from Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank - a rather unwelcome harbinger. Germany, they said, is likely to watch its economy decline again in the fourth quarter of 2023. The culprits? None other than industry and construction performances that have proved far too feeble to keep the economy afloat.
