Research institute Prognos AG said that the reward from the German Football Federation (DFB) -- it paid each of Germany's players $408,000 -- for "bringing the prize to Berlin is a small price to pay compared with the filip the German economy may get" as the victory draws shoppers to the "Made in Germany" brand, according to Angela Cullen of BLOOMBERG. Prognos Managing Dir Christian Boellhoff said, "Made in Germany definitely appreciates in value with success. It has a strengthening influence on German exports." Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is the "world's third-largest exporter, behind China and the U.S." Boellhoff said that "regardless of the sporting success, the German economy is heading toward a period of renewed economic prosperity" with the beckoning of the "golden 2020s." He said, "Germany is the only country of the largest economies in Europe that is in a really strong situation right now." German economic growth "accelerated more than forecast in the first quarter, propelled by domestic demand and a construction boom" (BLOOMBERG, 7/14).
BRAZIL EXPORT BOOST: In London, Joe Leahy reported Brazil "may have lost" on the field, but national export agency Apex President Mauricio Borges said that in the VIP stands, "Latin America's biggest country triumphed." Apex helped Brazilian companies to "invite more than 2,300 businesspeople from 104 countries to meet their local counterparts during the tournament, generating what it estimates" was about $6B in deals. Borges: "The World Cup seems to stir the emotions of people, from children to older people, so that they become more open to learn new things. We used this to show foreign businessmen a Brazil they might not have recognized." Brazil's government said that the event "generated enormous benefits." Academic institute Fipe indicated that last year's Confederations Cup generated about 10B reais in additional economic activity. Fipe added that the World Cup "should have generated about three times this much." Brazil's tourism ministry, meanwhile, estimated the event generated more than 15% of the 4.8 million jobs created during the "nearly four-year-long administration of President Dilma Rousseff" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/14).
