SUSTAINABILITY
›2012 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT‹
The sovereign debt crisis in parts of the eurozone and the sluggish global economy had a noticeable impact on economic growth in Germany in 2012. Although the country's economic performance picked up considerably at the beginning of the year as foreign trade became brisk at times, it lost momentum discernibly towards the end of the year. The slower pace of the global economy and the uncertainty surrounding further developments in the debt crisis had a significant impact on exports/imports and on capital expenditure by domestic firms. Across the year, foreign trade nevertheless made the greatest contribution towards increasing the gross domestic product, while investments as a whole did not stimulate any growth. However, private and public consumption expenditure boosted economic growth markedly. On the German labour market, the positive trends seen in recent years continued. Unemployment fell by 0.3 percentage points on the previous year and stood at 6.8 per cent. Inflation slowed down somewhat in 2012 and consumer prices rose by 2.0 per cent on average for the year compared to 2011.
As in the previous year, the sovereign debt crisis in Europe dominated developments on financial markets in the eurozone in 2012. Having initially started the year in a calmer vein, the economic outlook darkened tangibly in the second quarter as the troubled eurozone countries were hit by further credit rating downgrades and problems at commercial banks in the peripheral eurozone economies fed concerns that the crisis would escalate unchecked. The political forces and institutions in the single-currency area reacted to the latest intensification of the sovereign debt crisis by providing additional assistance. The ECB strengthened its expansive monetary policy in 2012, cutting the base rate from 1.0 to 0.75 per cent in July and thereby taking it to a new all-time low. German federal loans profited from heightened demand once again in 2012. Against the intensely uncertain backdrop of another deterioration in the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, federal securities – deemed an extremely safe investment – benefited strongly from Germany's stable economy and budgetary position. At the end of December, the yield for federal loans with a remaining term of ten years was 1.31 per cent. 2012 was a year of highs and lows for DAX shareholders.
Following a brief upwards trend at the beginning of the year, gloomier economic prospects for Europe and the rest of the world, along with growing fears about the future of the eurozone, prompted prices to plummet on the European stock markets. In the course of this development, the DAX temporarily fell below 6000 points. It stood at 7612 points at the end of the year.
›2012 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT‹
The sovereign debt crisis in parts of the eurozone and the sluggish global economy had a noticeable impact on economic growth in Germany in 2012. Although the country's economic performance picked up considerably at the beginning of the year as foreign trade became brisk at times, it lost momentum discernibly towards the end of the year. The slower pace of the global economy and the uncertainty surrounding further developments in the debt crisis had a significant impact on exports/imports and on capital expenditure by domestic firms. Across the year, foreign trade nevertheless made the greatest contribution towards increasing the gross domestic product, while investments as a whole did not stimulate any growth. However, private and public consumption expenditure boosted economic growth markedly. On the German labour market, the positive trends seen in recent years continued. Unemployment fell by 0.3 percentage points on the previous year and stood at 6.8 per cent. Inflation slowed down somewhat in 2012 and consumer prices rose by 2.0 per cent on average for the year compared to 2011.
As in the previous year, the sovereign debt crisis in Europe dominated developments on financial markets in the eurozone in 2012. Having initially started the year in a calmer vein, the economic outlook darkened tangibly in the second quarter as the troubled eurozone countries were hit by further credit rating downgrades and problems at commercial banks in the peripheral eurozone economies fed concerns that the crisis would escalate unchecked. The political forces and institutions in the single-currency area reacted to the latest intensification of the sovereign debt crisis by providing additional assistance. The ECB strengthened its expansive monetary policy in 2012, cutting the base rate from 1.0 to 0.75 per cent in July and thereby taking it to a new all-time low. German federal loans profited from heightened demand once again in 2012. Against the intensely uncertain backdrop of another deterioration in the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, federal securities – deemed an extremely safe investment – benefited strongly from Germany's stable economy and budgetary position. At the end of December, the yield for federal loans with a remaining term of ten years was 1.31 per cent. 2012 was a year of highs and lows for DAX shareholders.
Following a brief upwards trend at the beginning of the year, gloomier economic prospects for Europe and the rest of the world, along with growing fears about the future of the eurozone, prompted prices to plummet on the European stock markets. In the course of this development, the DAX temporarily fell below 6000 points. It stood at 7612 points at the end of the year.
