Rising exports and consumer demand helped inoculate the German economy, Europe’s biggest, against the recession plaguing many of its neighbors, but investor confidence is fading, data showed Tuesday. The national statistics office Destatis calculated that German gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.3 percent in the period from April to June, while the eurozone economy as a whole contracted by 0.2 percent. At the start of this year, Germany had notched up even stronger growth of 0.5 percent, but the economic powerhouse is beginning to feel the effects of the long-running debt crisis that has pushed much of Europe into recession. Destatis attributed Germany’s solid performance to robust household spending and rising exports.
TOURISM GIANT TUI SEES SUNNY DAYS AHEAD: German tourism giant TUI said on Tuesday it had shrugged off the eurozone debt crisis and was sticking to its forecasts after what it said was a “successful” quarter with net losses declining. The group, which owns Britain’s TUI Travel, Europe’s biggest tour operator, said it booked a loss of 3.3 million euros ($4.1 million) in its fiscal third quarter, compared to a loss of 40 million euros in the same period last year.
EMERGING MARKETS BOOST PHARMA FIRM MERCK KGaA: German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Merck KGaA raised Tuesday its forecasts for full-year revenues on expected growth in emerging markets after trimming its losses in the second quarter. Shares soared by more than four percent after the group said net losses in the second three months of the year came in at 60.5 million euros ($74.9 million) compared to 86.8 million euros in the same period last year. Total group revenues were up 11.6 percent to 2.9 billion euros with operating profits, as measured by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), up 13 percent to 747 million euros.
