There is no lack of entrepreneurial excellence; the productivity of medium-sized and large Italian firms and their ability to reach international markets are comparable to those of similarly sized French and German firms, but their share of employment and of value added is still insufficient.
The slowly unfolding financial crisis in the United States and the eventual shock of the Lehman bankruptcy in October 2008 hit an already weakening economy. As credit was  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  restricted globally and trade volumes collapsed around the world, the value of real exports of goods and services from South Africa fell by 19.5 percent in 2009.