Is Germany still the champion?

A week on from its World Cup soccer victory, Germany may return to center stage, though this time not with fan celebrations but concerns over the health of Europe's economic motor. Investors saw dark clouds building on Friday after a Malaysian airlines jet was shot down at the Ukraine-Russia border and Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza. That depressed shares and other risk assets, but the events are yet to disturb economic forecasts. ‘We've seen a delayed impact of China and the Ukraine crisis,’ said ING economist Carsten Brzeski. ‘This is an explosive cocktail, but right now with limited impact on growth. The Ukraine/Russia issue was already there, ’ according to Reuters.