German industrial orders in December surged to their highest level since April2008

The Europe's largest economy will gain steam early this year after narrowly avoiding recession in mid-2014. Beating even the highest forecasts, bookings for goods rose 4.2% in December, compared to a 2.4% contraction the previous month. Germany still slumped into deflation in January with prices falling 0.5%, although much of this can be blamed on the sharp fall in the oil prices.