This DIW publication, which is unfortunately not available in English in full version, makes the point that Germany's foreign investments--which accumulate as flip side of the current account surplus--fared quite badly during the crisis. The report goes so far to say that "some of the net valuation losses of German firms and individuals could have been prevented if their savings had been invested in long-term assets either in Germany or abroad." Ouch! Slap in the face of the German saver!
First a word of caution. Valuation changes are calculated as the residual between year end stocks and flows, which is a fairly coarse measure. Breaking...
