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 …"

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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