Germany says Europe’s largest economy is in ‘troubled waters’ and cuts its growth forecast

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German government says Europe’s largest economy is in “troubled waters.” It’s slashing its growth forecast for this year as it struggles with a lack of skilled labor, excessive bureaucracy, high interest rates and lagging investment in new projects. Meanwhile, a relatively modest set of tax breaks for business remains blocked in the legislature. The growth forecast was lowered to 0.2% from the previous forecast of 1.3%. That would follow a shrinking of the economy by 0.3% for all of last year. Germany is recovering slowly from the shock of Russia cutting off most natural gas supplies after its invasion of Ukraine.