After a four-month slide, German consumer confidence is picking up again - but it might not be enough to help the country’s related exchange traded funds (ETFs).

A forward-looking consumer climate forecast rose to 1.8% for October, up slightly from 1.6% in September, reports Patrick Mcgroarty for the Associated Press.

The confidence isn’t enough to go across the board, as business confidence has hit a three-year low, says Simone Meier for Bloomberg. In fact, overall the economy is not showing many signs of recovery and the impact of the U.S. credit crisis isn’t helped by rising oil prices and a falling euro.

Other European countries are seeing declining business confidence, too: Italy’s is at its lowest since October 2001, while France’s is at its lowest point in five years.

Germany is hopping mad about its own economic crisis, and is putting the full blame for it on the United States, reports Stephen Beard for Marketplace. German politicians have long been critical of our financial culture, but today’s words are particularly scathing.

They also delivered a grim prognosis for our economy, stating that the United States would lose its financial superpower status and Wall Street will never be the same again.

Affected ETFs include:

• iShares MSCI Germany (EWG), down 23.2% year-to-date
• NETS DAX (DAX), down 18.5% since May 22 inception

Tags: DAX, Europe, EWG, France, Germany, Italy, Retail & Consumer

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