Status of the European Economy
Thu, May 15 2008, 21:39 GMT
by Andrei Pehar
The European Union posted surprisingly strong economic
growth this month, lending further credence to the "de-coupling"
theory of whether other economies will follow the US into recession, if there is
one. Some may, but it looks as though others may have the resilience to
withstand it.
The latest figures suggest that the European Central Bank was spot on in it's
concern over inflation and its refusal to lower interest rates, even as the US
Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have done so.
The growth was led by Germany
and France, with Germany
posting the largest growth in 12 years. Meanwhile other countries
experienced slowdowns, namely Italy
and Spain, with Spain still
posting slight growth however the slowest it has seen in 8 years.
