STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 8 October 2013

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13. German Factory Orders Unexpectedly Fall on Weak Recovery

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-08/german-factory-orders-unexpectedly-fall-on-weak-recovery.html

German factory orders (GRIORTMM) unexpectedly fell in August, backing up the European Central Bank’s view that the economic recovery in the euro area is fragile.

Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, dropped 0.3 percent from July, when they fell a revised 1.9 percent, the Economy Ministry said today in an e-mailed statement. Economists forecast an increase of 1.1 percent in August, according to the median of 40 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Orders climbed 3.1 percent from a year ago, when adjusted for the number of working days.

While Europe’s largest economy is being supported by an “extraordinarily good” consumer climate, growth slowed in the third quarter, the Bundesbank said last month. Headwinds include near-record unemployment in the 17-nation euro area, Germany’s biggest trading partner, and a U.S. government shutdown.

“Fundamentally it is going to be a slow recovery even if Germany benefits a bit more than others from global trade,” said Aline Schuiling, an economist at ABN Amro Bank NV in Amsterdam. “While there may be bumps in the road from things like the U.S. government shutdown, it’s not going to derail the economy. We’re heading toward an acceleration in global growth in the second half of this year.”