Tough Love: Germany to the Rest of Eurozone + CN's Steel Output

choi

(1) Nicholas Kulish, Germany Looks to Its Own Costly Reunification in Resisting Stimulus for Greece; A sense that subsidies do not breed successful economies. New York Times, May 26, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/2 ... ance-on-greece.html

Quote:

"To an extent not often appreciated by outsiders, the lessons [East Germany] provided by that experience — with the nation pouring $2 trillion or more into the east, by some estimates, to little immediate benefit — color the outlook and decisions of policy makers and the attitudes of [German] voters, a majority of whom would like to see Greece leave the euro zone, polls show.

"While unemployment in the former West Germany is 6 percent, it remains stubbornly higher, at 11.2 percent, in the east. In 2010 gross domestic product per capita was more than $40,000 in the former West and just under $30,000 in the former East, compared with 1991 figures of $27,500 in the West and about $12,000 in the East. But much of the narrowing in the gaps between east and west, experts say, is attributed to the migration of job seekers westward as much as to any significant improvement in the east.

Note:
(a) Dresden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden
(capital city of the Free State of Saxony; on the River Elbe, near the Czech border;  A controversial Allied aerial bombing towards the end of World War II killed thousands of civilians and destroyed the entire city centre; Its name etymologically derives from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest)

* Sorbs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbs
(Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe)
(b) Leipzig
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig
(one of the two largest cities (along with Dresden) in the federal state of Saxony; situated about 200 km south of Berlin at the confluence of the Weisse Elster, Pleisse and Parthe rivers; section 1 Name)


(2) Tourists Also tell Greece 'No.' where to escape? Drop in summer bookings is last thing ailing economy needs. Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2012.
("Greek vacation bookings from Germany and the rest of Europe are down sharply, as would-be tourists took fright at the prospect of strikes and street protests")

Excerpt in the window of print: With prices down 15%, tourism officials argue greece now offers good value for the money.

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest of (2) and (3).
(b) A table to the report titled "Off season[;] Travel bookings to greece have dropped, hurting a pillar of its economy.

Top 10 EU countries in terms of travel and tourism contribution to 2011 GDP

Malta.........27.7%
Cyprus........17.7
Greece........16.5
Portugal......15.2
Spain.........14.8
Austria.......13.7
Bulgaria......12.8
Slovenia......12.8
Estonia.......12.6
Hungary.......10.4

Source: World Travel and Tourism Council"


(3) Liam denning, Steeling for a Chinese Slowdown. Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2012 (in the page Heard on the Street).

"China's steel industry has churned out more than two million metric tons a day so far this month. That is 749 million metric tons on an annualized basis, or almost 10% above the country's prior peak output, according to Steel Market Intelligence.

"Yet China does not need it. * * * To alleviate this, Chinese steel exports have jumped--up 28% in the first four months of this year. But like china, the rest of the world is struggling to swallow all that steel. Output elsewhere, such as North americs and Europe, is flat or down. In other words, cut-price Chinese exports are taking market share.

Note: A bar chart titled "Coil and Trouble[;] Crude steel production in millions of metric tons, year-to-date.*

China..........234.0
European........58.8
Japan...........35.6
US..............30.9
India...........24.0
South Korea.....23.3
Rest of world...97.4

* Through end of April
Source: Steel Market Intelligence"