During college I wrote a paper on saving rates in "International Business 101." My key argument was that Americans are less attracted to saving accounts than Germans - I got a D. In class discussion I was bombarded with evidence of the latter.

If you look at credit card ownership, recent collapse of the housing bubble and consumer confidence, my professor should re-read my paper. No doubt, the US economy remains strong, thanks to advanced consumers who shop with five credit cards. Even with a manufacturing drain and outsourcing to India or China, international business is still dominated by Stars and Stripes.

Berlin, with the highest private bankruptcy rate of any German city, oh yeah "poor but sexy" and nuts on great deals with effective publicity for Media Markt, is a debt exception. Essentially, Germany's budget deficit is smaller and private saving rates are higher. If Germans would consume as much as Americans, the economy would be much stronger. As world champion exporter and rebuilder, the fundamentals remain strong, although China is set to overtake the export position soon.

Recent troubles in the US housing market also hit German shores with banks joining in on the subprime market. Albeit, building wealth on value that doesn't exist might boomerang and hit two car garage and SUV chasers even harder. In Germany, those chasing better consumer opportunities simply leave the country, mostly to German speaking followed by the States, France, Spain, Italy and Scandanavian countries.