Refugees 'to keep German economy ticking over': government

Germany on Wednesday trimmed back its economic forecast for this year but insisted Europe's top economy remained "in good shape", with the refugee influx likely to boost short-term domestic demand. In its annual economic report, the government said it expected gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.7 percent in 2016, fractionally below an earlier forecast of 1.8 percent. "The German economy is fundamentally in good shape," the report said.