The cars and chemicals in the DAX

A FEW months ago, right after the Brits voted to leave the European Union, this column introduced the UK's FTSE 100 Index. In Europe, the British stock market is the biggest and contains a number of global companies that will be easily recognisable anywhere in the world.

However, it is Germany that possesses the strongest economy in the continent. Home to more than 80 million people, Deutschland also plays a key role in the world's political, military, and economic order.

It has come a long way since the horrors of Nazi Germany and the division of the country into East and West following World War II.