German economy receives boost from local spending spree

Berlin

SALES of new kitchens are up more than 10 per cent already this year at German kitchen maker Haecker. For those who would rather someone else did the cooking, roasted monkfish and turbot with truffles are flopping onto plates at Berlin's Michelin-starred restaurant Fischers Fritz.

A blizzard of corporate good news shows that famously frugal Germans are now snapping up football shirts from Adidas and electronics from retail chain Media-Saturn.