German economy strong growth expected in 2015: BundesbankMarch 23, 2015 - 16:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The German economy, Europe's biggest, will notch up "strong" growth in the first half of 2015, driven by robust exports and buoyant consumer spending, the German central bank or Bundesbank said Monday, March 23, according to AFP. "The German economy, following surprisingly strong growth at the end of 2014, should have continued to grow strongly in the first quarter of 2015," the Bundesbank wrote in its latest monthly report. "For the second quarter, too, the robust economic uptrend will continue. The main driving forces are foreign demand, private consumption and, to a lesser extent, residential construction," the report said. There were also signs of a pick-up in company investment, the Bundesbank said. Consumer spending, which was already robust thanks to favorable labor market developments and strong wage increases, had received an additional boost in purchasing power from falling energy prices, it argued. Furthermore, households had also increased their savings ratio "so that the additional real room for spending hasn't been fully utilised," the Bundesbank continued. The German economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, shrugging off the temporary lull in the preceding quarters. The 0.7-percent expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) in the final quarter of 2014 lifted growth for the whole year to 1.6 percent. The national statistics office Destatis will publish a preliminary estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth on May 13. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |