1990s. Summing up the meeting, Schroeder, Merkel and Stoiber said experts from the parties would now seek to hammer out compromise legislation in the areas where differences remained. Analysts were generally lukewarm on the government proposals unveiled by Schroeder in parliament. Elga Bartsch, a senior economist with Morgan Stanley in London, poured cold water on the Chancellor's proposal by noting most of the corporate tax cut would be recouped by simply broadening the tax base. "Overall there will be no net tax relief for German corporations," said Bartsch, adding: "The measures proposed as mildly positive for the German economy, but fall short of a meaningful stimulus." Morgan Stanley was therefore leaving its GDP growth forecast for Germany unchanged for 2005 at a modest 0.8 per cent, she said. Economists generally say 2 per cent growth is needed to make a dent into Germany's unemployment rate. --More 2351 Local Time 2051 GMT
