- Stefan Muetze, an economist at Helaba
German industrial output increased for a second consecutive month in October, a sign that a slow recovery in the Euro zone's number one economy is still in place. Industrial production rose a timid 0.2% from September, when it advanced 1.1%, according to the Economy Ministry. Measured on year-to-year basis, output rose 0.8% in the month under review, compared with a revised 0.1% growth recorded in the preceding month. Meanwhile, French and Italian officials clash with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who urged the countries to deploy extra measures to conform to the EU's deficit and debt rules. They stressed that Germany should focus on its own economic troubles, including subdued domestic demand, lack of investment as well as balance-of-payments imbalances, rather than dictate to other Euro zone's members what to do. A separate report showed European investors' mood continued to improve in December, albeit still remained in the negative territory. The Sentix Investor Confidence Index for the Euro zone came in at -2.5 points in December, compared with the -11.9 recorded in November. Both the economic situation and the expectations for the next six months were evaluated more positively by the survey participants. The Euro bloc's improvement is attributed largely to the anticipations the European Central Bank will launch a large-scale asset-buying programme soon.
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