{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='German economy and budget surplus soar, but Merkel shuns new debt' data-url='/boclips/videos/6878eb46859c693875d0f36e' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/6878eb46859c693875d0f36e' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nGerman economy and budget surplus soar, but Merkel shuns new debt\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eManufacturing powered ahead last year in Germany to give the economy strong growth and the government a record budget surplus of 23.7 billion euros. The country’s treasury benefited from soaring tax revenues, rising employment and low...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eManufacturing powered ahead last year in Germany to give the economy strong growth and the government a record budget surplus of 23.7 billion euros.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e The country’s treasury benefited from soaring tax revenues, rising employment and low borrowing costs.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e GDP growth was 1.9 percent for the whole year, just topping Britain’s 1.8, with the eurozone at 1.7 percent and the United States reaching 1.6 percent. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e Germany’s economy soars .. and so does the budget surplus .. but Chancellor Angela Merkel says spending take on new debtGermany ended the year in style as the world’s fastest growing major advanced \u003ca href='https://t.co/WTcMEy2imQ' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'\u003eeconomy\u003c/a\u003e pic.twitter.com/kpBqAxD6Oo— fastFT (@fastFT) February 23, 2017\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e Higher German government expenditure also played a big part.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e The country has spent heavily on housing and integrating the more than one million migrants – most fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East – who have arrived there in recent years.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e Commenting, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the budget surplus is not as big as it seems and she rejected European Commission calls for Germany to spend more to help boost the eurozone economy. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e She said the government’s fiscal room to manoeuvre is limited: “It’s a federal surplus and we need to look carefully at what unemployment insurance and pensions there are. Then there’s the situation with the different German states and the communities that needs to be looked at and when you then get to the federal budget, the surplus is very modest.”\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e Central bank reaction\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e The head of Germany’s central bank said in a time of plenty it is setting aside more money in case of losses on the bonds it is buying as part of the European Central Bank’s stimulus programme.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e Jens Weidmann welcomed the growth, saying: “The German economy with capacity utilisation perceptibly higher that that of the euro area remains in good shape. Employment once again hit a new all time high last year, thanks above all to healthy domestic demand.”\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e He also argued for the advantages of free trade, saying that “the German government the Bundesbank will reiterate its backing for open markets and fair trade at the forthcoming G20 meetings”.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e “In times like these when uncertainty is rife it is safe to say that constructive cooperation between the most important stakeholders in the G20 context is even more significant than it is in any case.”\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e Consumer sentiment\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e As the growth statistics were released, the German finance ministry said it expected spending by households and government to drive growth again this year, but a consumer sentiment survey just published by GfK showed Germans less confident and worried about economic risks linked to the policies of US President Donald Trump.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e GfK researcher Rolf Buerkl said: “Above all, protectionism is a problem especially for those employed in Germany’s export industries, and that has led to uncertainty. Some people might now be more concerned about the security of their jobs.”\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e Rising prices were another reason given for consumers being more pessimistic in their responses to the consumer survey – inflation in Germany hit 1.9 percent in January.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e  Germany GFK Consumer Confidence announcement –  Actual: 10.0, Expected: 10.1 pic.twitter.com/YbEPWYrVhM— Spreadex (@spreadexfins) February 23, 2017\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource Details\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource-details clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eCurator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan class=\"star-rating\" aria-label=\"3.5 out of 5 stars\" role=\"img\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star-half-stroke text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-regular fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt class=\"educator-rating-title\"\u003eEducator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"educator-rating-details\" data-path=\"/educator_ratings/rrp_data?resourceable_id=91037765\u0026amp;resourceable_type=Boclips%3A%3AVideoMetadata\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"not-yet-rated\"\u003eNot yet Rated\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eMedia Length\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e2:10\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eGrade\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd title=\"Grade\"\u003e9th - Higher Ed\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eSubjects\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"/search?keywords=history+of+computers+game\u0026amp;search_tab_id=1\u0026amp;subject_ids%5B%5D=358379\"\u003eSocial Studies \u0026amp; 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