German banks admit damage from mark rise
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.BONN (Reuter) - The Federation of German Banks yesterday admitted that Germany's economic prospects had worsened as a result of the recent turbulence on currency markets.
In its monthly report the federation said that the strong increase in the value of the mark against other European currencies could hit around a quarter of exports while making imports more competitive. 'The German economy still has something of a hard slog ahead of it,' the federation said.
It said considerable progress had been made in the economic reconstruction of eastern Germany since unification two years ago. But it added that western Germany's economy had weakened considerably, with industrial orders down, unemployment rising and persistent inflationary pressures.
'At present there is no appreciable stimulus for the west German economy either domestically or from abroad,' it said.
Senior politicians from Chancellor Helmut Kohl's coalition said yesterday that taxes might have to be raised in the next few years to pay the soaring bill for German unification.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments