Germany should at least get out of the way

This week, the German Federal Statistical Office reported that the country’s current account surplus rose to €23.1bn for October. Allowing for the September estimate, which was revised higher, this represents the third-highest level on record. While German competitiveness has explained, historically, some of the surplus, International Monetary Fund and European Commission officials have long warned that the country’s current account imbalance amounts to a policy of needlessly importing demand in a world already starved of it.