Germany confident about balancing finances

Germany, Europe's powerhouse economy, said on Monday it will balance its public finances sooner than expected, slashing this year's projected budget deficit to 1.5 per cent from 2.5 per cent. As Eurozone partners work on ever tighter austerity plans to balance their books, Germany leads the pack in the strength of its finances — it had a 2010 deficit of 3.3 per cent, just above the EU ceiling of three per cent despite having spent heavily on stimulus programmes to offset the worst recession since 1945. "The positive development this year will continue until 2015, which will allow us to balance the accounts in 2014," the ministry said in a monthly report published on its website. Germany previously aimed to balance its fin-ances by 2016 under a law requiring the government to ensure that it does not overspend.