In the midst of the Euro crisis, Germany has been the beacon of hope. Long the strongest economy in the eye of the storm, they’ve been leaders in the turmoil and the country to watch for hopes of a move forward. However, even with other nations buoyed by the ECB bond buying plan, Germany’s numbers are not all that encouraging. Reuters reports:

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday, extending last week’s decline as weak European data caused investors to question the prospects for global growth.

German business sentiment dropped for a fifth successive month in September to its lowest level since early 2010, showing the strongest of Europe’s economies is succumbing to a downturn despite the European Central Bank’s ambitious bond-buying plan. European shares lost 0.6 percent.

To be fair, the declines in both the European and U.S. stock markets have been paltry in comparison to the summer equities surge we commented on in last week’s newsletter. However, the continued negative data coming out of Germany may put a damper on things as investors warily eye potential economic stumbling blocks on the horizon. In a perfect world, the decline is not decidedly sudden, allowing managed futures to position themselves appropriately for a downturn, but with the risk on/risk off moves of 2011 still fresh in our minds, we know it could go either way. However, should economic data continue to trickle down in this manner, the former scenario is looking plausible.