"Slower growth is still growth" - German Finance Minister

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, reaffirmed his opposition to Berlin taking on new debts, despite signs that the economy was slowing, telling German public television that "slower growth is still growth". In an interview with ZDF's Heute Journal, due to be aired on Tuesday, Scholz also said that Germany's tax revenues were also set to rise further, even if more slowly than many had expected.

"The labour market is at record highs, and it is forecast to grow further," he said, according to extracts published by ZDF, meaning it was not the time "to abandon our insistence on creating no new debts." Widespread signs of a downturn this year have prompted many analysts to call an end to the decade-long boom in Europe's economic powerhouse and fueled calls for Berlin to abandon its fiscal caution in favour of a stimulus programme.