the economy is recovering from last year's deepecession. much stronger than expected, according to a survey by the cologne research institute. german companies are optimistic about the new year. while the international economic situation remains volatile, the outlook for germany is bright. >> in its i.t. laboratory, staff are busy hunting down warms, viruses, and trojans, and inventing software to combat the militias programs. the internet security company grew by 10% during the global recession. it also continued growing throughout the whole of this year. like most of the german i.t. industry, they are confident about the prospects for 2011, an attitude echoed by 46 of the country's largest business associations. 76% of germany's companies expect to increase sales next year. 13% think things are likely to get worse. 11% expect no significant change. the overall improvement will be reflected in the country's labor market, with a majority saying they will be taking on new staff next year. the cologne economic research institute says that wil