Trading the Europe Slide
To be fair, nobody expected great numbers out of Europe overnight. In fact, for the three biggest European Monetary Union economies, a contraction was expected in the gross domestic product. What wasn't anticipated was the parade of weak data that emerged that showed European economies dissolving at a faster-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter.
If French President François Hollande is as concerned about the strong euro as he claims to be, he has less to fear now. Quarter over quarter, French GDP fell 0.3%, and German GDP contracted by 0.6%. Today's soft numbers rapidly brought the currency to its lowest point since Jan. 24 as it became apparent that nearly everyone had overestimated European growth. The plunge was exacerbated by word that Standard & Poor's may issue downgrades of France, Spain, Italy and Portugal later this year....483 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
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