Peer Steinbrück, Germany's finance minister, has remained upbeat about his country's growth prospects as the global financial crisis has unfolded. The country's economic turnround has been led by exports - on which almost a quarter of its jobs depend. Even if the US economy slowed, German manufactured industrial products and machines are in high demand elsewhere in the world.

Lower unemployment should, meanwhile, support domestic demand. But consumer confidence remains a potential weak spot. There is no danger of a housing bubble bursting - German house prices have been flat for a decade, house loans are usually on long-term fixed rates. But consumer spending has remained weak this year.