German economy hits ten year high ...

[Peoplesoft bloke]

As for German success - isn't this due to long termism and partnership in industries (between Unions and management and banks and companies) ?

That would be hard to do here given our aggressive confrontational get rich quick short term resentment class ridding blighted isle.

[DodgyAgent]

What is all this sudden carp about the German economy all about? At last after 20 years of low growth and high unemployment it is now doing what it should have been doing for years (which is still not very much).

The UK economy is the one that has led any sort of growth in Europe (since Thatcher) and as soon as it blips out come all the little toadies, who incidentally have themselves enjoyed huge prosperity, jumping on the sneer at Britain bandwagon.

It is precisely because of the cosy business partnerships with the Unions (otherwise meaning protective exclusive job destroying cartels) and the abundance of welfare for the Germans that it has underperformed so appallingly for the past 20 years.

And before you start banging on about how revered their bleeding engineers are they are facing a huge engineering skills shortage.

[sasguru]

What is all this sudden carp about the German economy all about? At last after 20 years of low growth and high unemployment it is now doing what it should have been doing for years (which is still not very much).

The UK economy is the one that has led any sort of growth in Europe (since Thatcher) and as soon as it blips out come all the little toadies, who incidentally have themselves enjoyed huge prosperity, jumping on the sneer at Britain bandwagon.

It is precisely because of the cosy business partnerships with the Unions (otherwise meaning protective exclusive job destroying cartels) and the abundance of welfare for the Germans that it has underperformed so appallingly for the past 20 years.

And before you start banging on about how revered their bleeding engineers are they are facing a huge engineering skills shortage.

More ranting from a brain-washed Torygraph reader repeating the usual cliches about an "underperforming" German economy.
The numbers over the years (and I don't mean the annual growth rate) put the lie to the myth of German underperformance. I suggest you research them.
Don't forget over this time Germany has incorporated the equivalent of a large 3rd world country.
And don't forget that our so-called "prosperity" has been funded by 1 trillion pounds of personal borrowing.
And those of us who having visited a number of times and observed the reality of a country with a much higher standard of living (from bottom to top of society) laugh at your "little Englander" pig ignorance.

[DodgyAgent]

More ranting from a brain-washed Torygraph reader repeating the usual cliches about an "underperforming" German economy.
The numbers over the years (and I don't mean the annual growth rate) put the lie to the myth of German underperformance. I suggest you research them. Don't forget over this time Germany has incorporated the equivalent of a large 3rd world country.
And those of us who having visited a number of times and observed the reality of a country with a much higher standard of living (from bottom to top of society) laugh at your "little Englander" pig ignorance.

Dont take my word for it. Here is what your precious little fountain of PC knowledge had to say about Germany 3 years ago

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4205086.stm

[sasguru]

Dont take my word for it. Here is what your precious little fountain of PC knowledge had to say about Germany 3 years ago

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4205086.stm

I don't use the BBC as my source of facts, original linky notwithstanding.
Reading the article above there are very few numbers quoted to show that Germany was really experiencing a slump 3 years ago.
The explanation for such articles is the perennial English need for shadenfreude at Germany's expense.
Do you really think they've dramatically turned their economy round in 3 years? No, the truth is that in the German way, they've methodically fixed the problems that arose from re-unification and exported their way out of trouble.
In contrast to the quick fix of borrowing money we've used here.
Slow and steady is perhaps a method we ought to apply.

[DodgyAgent]

I don't use the BBC as my source of facts, original linky notwithstanding.
Reading the article above there are very few numbers quoted to show that Germany was really experiencing a slump 3 years ago.
The explanation for such articles is the perennial English need for shadenfreude at Germany's expense.
Do you really think they've dramatically turned their economy round in 3 years? No, the truth is that in the German way, they've methodically fixed the problems that arose from re-unification and exported their way out of trouble.
In contrast to the quick fix of borrowing money we've used here.
Slow and steady is perhaps a method we ought to apply.

The problem with Germany is the opposite. The Germans squirrel the stuff away so there is little activity in the retail sector.

[sasguru]

The problem with Germany is the opposite. The Germans squirrel the stuff away so there is little activity in the retail sector.

True they are not a consumer economy. Which is why their recession will be less severe than ours (yes, they will have one as people buy less Beemers etc).
What do you think will be the effect as the record debt that people here have built up over the years unwinds? The recession starting later this year will probably be the worst since the 2nd World war.

[threaded]

http://www.mathies.com/blog/evangeline_lilly1.jpg

[hyperD]

http://www.mathies.com/blog/evangeline_lilly1.jpg

Corrr, no wonder Dominic Monaghan wanted a bit... shame she dumped him....

[milanbenes]

I'm with SAS here,

DA you're talking out of your backside as usual

Friends of mine in the UK find it hard to accept that in the coming recession the mainland won't be hit as hard as the UK, but the fact is borrowing on the mainland has much tougher entry criteria

Milan.