In Perspective: European Economies
Following the first-ever downgrade of the U.S.'s credit rating from AAA to AA+, global markets are in turmoil. There is a bloodbath in almost all important stock markets.
(Read The Explainer on Credit Rating.)
Its just not the U.S. economy (and the impact of the debt rating downgrade) that is giving the world the jitters; for three years now, countries in the European Union have emitted negative vibes and have been a constant worry for investors. The Economist has an interesting interactive feature on the multiple crises (including growth & debt) that are gripping both major and minor economies in the Eurozone.
(Read The Explainer on Credit Rating.)
Its just not the U.S. economy (and the impact of the debt rating downgrade) that is giving the world the jitters; for three years now, countries in the European Union have emitted negative vibes and have been a constant worry for investors. The Economist has an interesting interactive feature on the multiple crises (including growth & debt) that are gripping both major and minor economies in the Eurozone.
The interactive graphic above (updated July 25th 2011) illustrates some of the problems that the European economy faces. GDP picked up in most countries through 2010 but there were marked differences in performance. Germany was especially sprightly: its economy expanded by almost 5% in the year to the first quarter of 2011. But GDP in Greece has crashed under the weight of austerity; Ireland contracted sharply in late 2010; and Spain’s economy is barely growing.
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