that is julian chillingworth, the cio at rathbone.erman economy shrank 9.7% in the second quarter. we will get deeper into the data from the euro area's biggest economy. that's next. calls from jozsef varadi -- from julian chillingworth. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ >> you are watching "bloomberg surveillance." fromve some breaking lines the key voice of the german cabinet. he is speaking at a news conference and vienna -- in vienna. he says there are signs that the german economy is developing better than expected. german companies and consumers cut spending sharply during the virus-related restrictions. the german economy contracted 9.7% in the second quarter. initial estimates for 10.1% is what had been penciled in. the numbers show the scale of the slump at the height of the lockdown restrictions in the euro area's biggest economy. let's get back to julian chillingworth from rathbone. your initial reaction on these figures? julian: i think it is good to see a slight improvement on the first estimate that we saw, but not a surprising num