The Euro Zone Is Headed for a Bumpy Ride
- added August 07, 2008
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- unclepete
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Though most of Europe has avoided the real estate slump, the euro zone is feeling the pinch from disparities among its member states.
For most of August, business across Europe grinds to a halt as Germans, Italians, and the rest of the Continent head off for month-long vacations. This year, Europe's sun-seekers may want to savor their time away from the office a little more than usual. That's because bad economic news awaits their return to work as the euro zone -- the 15-country bloc that uses the euro as its currency -- moves headlong toward recession.
By any measure, times are getting tough for Europe. Business activity hit a seven-year low in July, and growth in the region's gross domestic product is expected to slump to 1.5 percent in 2008, compared with 2.6 percent last year. In the once-booming Spanish economy, the imploding domestic housing market has pushed the unemployment rate to 10.7 percent -- the highest for any member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. Even in Germany, the region's largest economy, declining exports have cut industrial production to its lowest level since the late 1990s.
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For most of August, business across Europe grinds to a halt as Germans, Italians, and the rest of the Continent head off for month-long vacations. This year, Europe's sun-seekers may want to savor their time away from the office a little more than usual. That's because bad economic news awaits their return to work as the euro zone -- the 15-country bloc that uses the euro as its currency -- moves headlong toward recession.
By any measure, times are getting tough for Europe. Business activity hit a seven-year low in July, and growth in the region's gross domestic product is expected to slump to 1.5 percent in 2008, compared with 2.6 percent last year. In the once-booming Spanish economy, the imploding domestic housing market has pushed the unemployment rate to 10.7 percent -- the highest for any member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. Even in Germany, the region's largest economy, declining exports have cut industrial production to its lowest level since the late 1990s.
Read more...
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