US Investors Still Like Germany

With economic growth tagged at 1.6 percent this year, Germany may not appear to be the place for a good investment. But the bad news hasn't dampened US corporate investors shopping for bargains. Given all the complaining in German business circles lately, it hardly seems likely foreign investors would want to dish out money in this country. With unemployment steadily on the rise, the national budget deficit in stark violation of EU norms, economic growth squeezing by at less than two percent and employees on strike to keep 35-hour work weeks, there isn't much to encourage a positive future outlook for business. But nobody seems to have shared the negative forecast with American private equity firms looking for a good money-making deal in Germany. US corporate investors have a decidedly different view of the German economy than many of the business leaders here do. At a recent trans-Atlantic business conference in Stuttgart, US investors said they generally don’t find Germany to be as bad off as many Germans make it out to be. Instead, a healthy dose of American-flavored optimism was what they recommended to help get the patient back on its feet again.