Earnings, Financial Position and Net Worth

In the first half of 2010, the world economy appeared to have staged a broad-based recovery from the great turbulence. Exports in particular rallied from their slump, both in the industrial nations and in the emerging markets. Despite this global upswing, the longer term impact of the financial crisis is now emerging. The effect of the fiscal policy of the economic stimulus programs launched to counteract the significant downturn in demand was reflected in the soaring national debt of a number of eurozone countries. The resulting insecurity had an impact first and foremost on confidence in the euro in the face of Greece's potential bankruptcy. By contrast, the economic recovery in North America was somewhat more positive, with the possibility of growth rates above 3 %. Even more promising is the development in Asia and South America. China in particular is likely to achieve double-digit growth rates. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this trend is evidence of a prospering global economy which is set to grow by 4.6 % in spite of the euro crisis.

The aforementioned problems in the euro area took on a certain critical impetus in the first half of the year. The European Union secured Greece’s solvency with an infusion of liquidity amounting to 750 billion euros on condition that Greece systematically reduces its national debt. At present, countries facing similar challenges, such as Spain and Italy, have also begun to consolidate their finances, and the UK and Germany also intend to make savings in the double-digit billion range in the years ahead. How negative an impact the restrictive fiscal policy will have on the goods sector remains to be seen. These factors underpin the forecasts of a number of research institutes which have calculated a growth in the euro area of between 0.9 % and 1.2 % for 2010 as a whole.

The German economy has proven to be relatively robust, particularly regarding the positive situation in the industrial sector and foreign trade. Economic expectations are somewhat dampened by domestic and foreign consolidation measures, as another shock to demand would have negative consequences for German companies with their strong export orientation. This is the reason why growth figures for 2010 have been set at between 1.2 to 2.0 %.