Come shop with us GERMANY’S neighbours in the European Union have long wished that its parsimonious citizens would save less and spend more, to boost the economy of the whole region. Might this now be happening, as Germany enjoys growth in both jobs and wages? Unemployment, down to 6.4%, has continued to fall despite the introduction of a national minimum wage in January. Last year nominal pay rose by 2.9%, and with inflation negligible it was the best year for real wage growth since 1999, notes Heiko Peters, an economist at Deutsche Bank. Despite worries about the knock-on effects of a possible Greek exit from the euro, the German public’s confidence has climbed steadily, according to a survey by GfK, a market-research outfit (see chart). As a result, spending is beginning to tick upwards. And outsiders are noticing: earlier this month Hudson’s Bay Company, a Canadian retailer, outbid an Austrian firm, Signa, to buy Kaufhof, Germany’s biggest department-store chain. ...
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