We wrote about the US downturn and its affect on the tech industry in this week's First Thing Monday newsletter column (subscribe here). But it's turning out to be much more than just a domestic issue. If you picked up a newspaper on Friday morning, you read how The Wall Street Journal warns that “Germany is facing what could be its longest recession since the Federal Republic’s foundation in 1949.” Adding further pain, the paper noted that “Germany is now forecast to be one of Europe’s worst, rather than best, performers.” This was attributed to the country’s strong export performance.
The news isn’t a lot better outside Germany. In the same article, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is forecasting that U.S. GDP will shrink by 0.9% next year, Japan’s by 0.1%, and the euro zone’s by 0.5%.
Switching newspapers, the front page of Friday’s edition of The New York Times reported that China is experiencing higher unemployment and slower growth thanks to the closing of at least 67,000 factories in the first two quarters of this year. Some are forecasting that China’s GDP will grow 5.8% next year, almost half of the 11% rate it achieved in 2007.
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