Management report
Macroeconomic climate
Overshadowed by the European sovereign debt crisis and the crisis of confidence on financial markets, the expansion of the global economy lost further impetus in the year under review. Moves by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to intervene on the monetary policy side helped to lighten the mood on financial markets; they did not, however, bring about an economic recovery.
Industrialised nations pressed ahead with consolidation measures intended to reduce levels of debt. While in the United States this was especially true of the private sector, in the United Kingdom and in the Eurozone considerable efforts were made to consolidate public finances. The resulting slumps in growth and faltering demand triggered an economic slowdown among emerging nations. In China the pace of expansion had already slowed in the previous year. In Japan, where economic activity started the year at a brisk tempo, the economy began to cool from the spring onwards. All in all, therefore, the ifo Institute estimates that global output grew by just 3.0% (previous year: 3.8%).