mercredi 25 mars 2015
Five Charts Show Europe's Economy Is All Right
Posted on 03:36 by nice news
Wherever you look in financial markets, there's evidence that the euro zone economy is pitiable, while the U.S. is on a smooth trajectory to recovery. Dig into some of the recent European economic data, though, and there are surprising signs of life to be glimpsed on the continent. First, the pessimism. In currencies, the euro has lost 20 percent of its value against the dollar in the past year. In stocks, the U.S. S&P 500 index has outperformed the STOXX Europe 600 index by more than 15 percent when both are measured in dollars; the one-year gap is closer to 20 percent in euros. And in bonds, deflation worries mean investors are willing to pay 0.07 percent for the privilege of lending to the German government for five years, while they charge Uncle Sam 1.4 percent.
And now for the good news. Although the textbooks suggest deflation -- defined as a sustained period of falling prices -- makes consumers unwilling to spend because they expect to get better bargains in the future, that doesn't seem to be happening in the euro region. In January, shoppers propelled retail sales up by 1.1 percent in the month, beating the 0.2 percent increase forecast by economists. The annual figure of 3.7 percent was the fastest growth in almost a decade, and outstripped economists' expectations for a 2.3 percent gain:
And now for the good news. Although the textbooks suggest deflation -- defined as a sustained period of falling prices -- makes consumers unwilling to spend because they expect to get better bargains in the future, that doesn't seem to be happening in the euro region. In January, shoppers propelled retail sales up by 1.1 percent in the month, beating the 0.2 percent increase forecast by economists. The annual figure of 3.7 percent was the fastest growth in almost a decade, and outstripped economists' expectations for a 2.3 percent gain:
Five Charts Show Europe's Economy Is All Right
Categories: Five Charts Show Europes Economy Is All Right
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