Head of the German Bundesbank and ECB board member Jens Weidmann warned of risks to the economy
German press (Handelsblatt ) reports on Weidmann's comments made to a German government July 6 cabinet meeting (W was there as a guest)
- Told the Cabinet to prepare for harder times ahead
- Said the ECB has little scope to act on monetary policy in the event of a downturn, citing slow policy nomralisation
"A word in your ear, ma'am …"
-
Background to this:
- Bundesbank cuts its GDP forecast for the year last month (to 2% from 2.5%)
- Citing trade, political concerns
More background - Germany's economy is currently performing robustly