Germany is traditionally seen as the power house economy of Europe. So, the fact the Q3 GDP figures show that the German economy has slowed down is likely to increase the pressure on the Euro. The single European currency has been trading lower recently because of fears about Irish abilities to manage their debt. The Irish deficit has spiralled to 32% of GDP as the costs of supporting the financial sector in the wake of the global financial crisis and the bursting of the Irish property bubble are factored in. (full story)