Live data from Hacker News

Germany Falls into Recession

cnn.com

11–20 of 203 posts

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#11

Technical recession. Recession nonetheless. The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. At the same time there's high inflation in Austria, Slovenia and the Baltics.

There's high inflation in Germany as well.

A recession helps controlling inflation...

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#12
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. It's as if a single currency and a single central bank for 25 different economies with different levels of debt, doesn't really work that well in every situation. > At the same time there's high inflation in Austria Inflation in Austria is now mostly due to greedflation. If you cross the border into Germany the same goods are suddenly cheap…

Doesn't the US do the same with states instead of countries?

Top level EU has no capability of being a fiscal union, only a partial monetary union.

This has limitations and reduces how analogous it can be to the US' and its member states.

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#13

Technical recession. Recession nonetheless. The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. At the same time there's high inflation in Austria, Slovenia and the Baltics.

>The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. It's as if a single currency and a single central bank for 25 different economies with different levels of debt, doesn't really work that well in every situation. > At the same time there's high inflation in Austria Inflation in Austria is now mostly due to greedflation. If you cross the border into Germany the same goods are suddenly cheap…

A monetary union without a fiscal union doesn't really make sense, imo. The US (mostly) works because states run balanced budgets(if you ignore underfunded pensions) and the federal govt corrects trade imbalances by taking money from some states and sending it to others.

Economists in the EU must have understood this and if I had to guess they assumed a fiscal union would develop at some point?

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#14

Technical recession. Recession nonetheless. The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. At the same time there's high inflation in Austria, Slovenia and the Baltics.

They wouldn't cut rates anyway, with inflation at 7.2%.

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#15

IMHO, it was already there, but it was in denial. Since covid, rents increases have far outpaced salary increases. And since 2022 so have bill, groceries, everything. But then again so is most of Europe.

>Since covid, rents increases have far outpaced salary increases. And since 2022 so have bill, groceries, everything.

Same story in the US.

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. It's as if a single currency and a single central bank for 25 different economies with different levels of debt, doesn't really work that well in every situation. > At the same time there's high inflation in Austria Inflation in Austria is now mostly due to greedflation. If you cross the border into Germany the same goods are suddenly cheap…

True, but every system has flaws. For the most part the Euro and ECB has been a benefit for every country in it. Even a country like Greece. As bad as the single currency was for Greece, outside the EU and Eurozone, Greece could very likely have been closer to Venezuela with even fewer resource wealth to benefit from.

Was it really a benefit? The only benefit is belief that Germany won't let euro fail and will bailout anybody no matter how shitty situation is. On the other side, this prevents fixing root causes. Why fix anything and make people angry if you can ride the wave, hope for the best and in worst case someone will bail you out?

That's why we have this massive inflation. No real value is created, yet everybody is flush with the money. Pandemic was just a perfect excuse for BS that is brewing since at least 08 crisis.

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#17
post #8
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't the US do the same with states instead of countries?

To what extent does each state run its own economy? The EU does not have centralised taxes or a centralised economic policy, but it does have a single currency. It's possible a single currency also requires more centralised financial/economic policies.

State economies do differ dramatically though, and monetary policy can indeed affect them in opposite ways at least for a while. And state revenues are almost entirely collected by the state aren't they? There are funds for interstates and railroads, and schools, but often schools are primarily funded at the city level by property taxes.

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#18
Actually the biggest blow was not the energy costs, but the interest rates. They went from 1-2% now at 4-5, even 6% for real-estate ( new building and old ) while the prices are still at last year level. For other types of financing, I had a "good" offer which went to 12% interest. I felt like in a 3rd world country. With such expensive money, nothing will be done.

The construction economy is really going dow from mid 2023, everyone has trouble finding projects while the money are kept by the people in banks and not released out of the uncertainty.

However, German economy is so diverse that it will absorb this as well.

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#19
post #14

Technical recession. Recession nonetheless. The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. At the same time there's high inflation in Austria, Slovenia and the Baltics.

They wouldn't cut rates anyway, with inflation at 7.2%.

stagflation...its in Germany, coming to the US...there is only one way out: we get poorer

Re: Germany Falls into Recession

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The ECB has a real problem with asymmetry. Can't cut rates just for Germany. It's as if a single currency and a single central bank for 25 different economies with different levels of debt, doesn't really work that well in every situation. > At the same time there's high inflation in Austria Inflation in Austria is now mostly due to greedflation. If you cross the border into Germany the same goods are suddenly cheap…

True, but every system has flaws. For the most part the Euro and ECB has been a benefit for every country in it. Even a country like Greece. As bad as the single currency was for Greece, outside the EU and Eurozone, Greece could very likely have been closer to Venezuela with even fewer resource wealth to benefit from.

>True, but every system has flaws. For the most part the Euro and ECB has been a benefit for every country in it.

Except Italy alas.

Post reply on HN