German Business Activity Down The Eurozone figures for France are looking slightly better, but the country known as Europe’s powerhouse is showing signs of economic decline following weak PMI numbers released on Tuesday. The survey conducted by Markit revealed surprisingly bad data coming from Germany, largely considered as the backbone of the Eurozone economy. Usually the data shows other economies weakening while Germany expands. The fact that German economic performance is waning is an alarming sign and might indicate a worsening recession throughout the common market. Markit’s survey measuring early gauge of business activity, increased to 46.6 per cent in April from 46.4 per cent in March, thus failing to reach the magical number of 50 which separates growth from withering economic performance.