German Unemployment Fell for 24th Month in June (this is what happens when you keep your factories)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-30/german-unemployment-drops-8-000-as-joblessness-declines-for-a-24th-month.html

German unemployment declined for a 24th straight month in June, underscoring the resilience of Europe’s largest economy amid the euro region’s debt crisis. The number of people out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 8,000 to 2.97 million, the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency said today. Economists forecast a drop of 17,000, according to the median of 32 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The jobless rate held at 7 percent, the lowest since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991.

German companies are stepping up output and hiring, bolstering consumer demand and helping drive the euro region’s economic expansion. Germany’s economic performance contrasts with that of Greece, where rioters failed yesterday to halt the passage of additional austerity measures as the debt-burdened country struggles to emerge from a recession.

“The German labor market has been improving rapidly since the middle of 2009,” said Aline Schuiling, an economist at ABN Amro Bank NV in Amsterdam. “The combination of robust employment growth and rising wage growth will underpin consumption this year and next.” The euro traded at $1.4486 at 10:37 a.m. in Frankfurt, up 0.4 percent from yesterday.

The Bundesbank on June 10 forecast the economy will expand 3.1 percent this year after record growth of 3.6 percent in 2010. The “prospects of the German economy experiencing a lengthy period of expansion are rising,” the central bank said.


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http://www.businessinsider.com/june-unemployment-in-germany-2011-6

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my thoughts---

The 4 Reich is rising, Germany is happy to have the euro crisis (to a point) as it keeps the price of its exports down. Yes their banks have exposure to Greek debt, but to put this in perspective, if all the German banks took a 50% haircut loss on all their direct exposure, the resulting $10 billion dollar loss is less than the USA government spends in ONE DAY. Meanwhile, the derivative losses in the event of Greek default will crush the US, and of course the American government will simply tack it onto the debt chattel slave chain of the US citizens. In fact, if form holds, not only will the Fed bail out the US banks, but they will again send trillions to the euro zone.

Eventually, the eurozone will break into multiple monetary parts, me thinks, with the Nordic countries and Germany, Austria, and the Benelux countries uniting in a new trade block (maybe even Russia will join) that will vie with China, India, Brasil, and a vastly diminished USA for global trade dominance over the coming several decades. I also see a new partially gold and silver-backed, partially commodity-backed (think Norwegian and Russian oil) and partially industrial-output backed common Nordic euro currency emerging in the next 2 or so years. The other option would be Germany going it alone with a new Deutschmark.

The big remaining question would then be 'whither France?', as they will simply be the Germans' vassal if they join the Nordics, but really have no other options in terms of viability of partnership with the PIIGS. The UK is every bit as toast as its partner the US, in terms of both public and especially private debt, as well as a crumbling jobs base and infrastructure.