Europe’s largest economy has been in a recession for 6 months and nobody noticed

Anyone looking for proof that financial markets do not necessarily reflect the real economy need look no further than Germany. Less than a week after the country’s blue chip index notched a new record closing high, federal statisticians reported on Thursday that Europe’s largest economy is mired in a recession. The downward revisions to earlier estimates now reveal total output contracted in two straight quarters—by 0.5% at the end of last year and 0.3% at the beginning of this one—fulfilling …