Germans don't do shopping

In Surprise Fall German retail sales fell unexpectedly in August, affected by the impact of higher oil prices and the credit-market turmoil.

 Sales, adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings, fell 1.4%
month-on-month, and were down 2.2% year-on-year. The news follows a survey by
GfK this week, which revealed that German consumer optimism fell to the lowest
level in five months.