This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Sober Look. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street Examiner or Lee Adler. Reposting does not imply endorsement. The information presented is for educational or entertainment purposes and is not individual investment advice.
The biggest threat to near-term recovery in the Eurozone is not the periphery. It’s France – which represents over a fifth of the area’s GDP.
CNBC: – The figures showed the euro zone’s second-largest economy, hit by lagging trade competitiveness and a caught in a shallow recession, will not be able to count on its traditional driver – consumer spending – to rebound.
The sickly growth will leave France’s 2013 public deficit near 4 percent of economic output, overshooting an already revised target of 3.7 percent and further away from an EU goal of 3 percent, the state auditor said in a report on Thursday
French consumer confidence is now worse than the lows of the Great Recession.
In contrast, German consumer sentiment (as measured by GfK) jumped to a 5.5-year high in June.
 |
| GfK German Consumer Sentiment (Bloomberg) |
Even Italy is showing improved consumer mood, which is now at a 15-month high. Assuming the banking system deleveraging slows (and many expect that it will), stabilization of economic conditions in France could set the stage for recovery in the Eurozone as a whole.
From our sponsor:
Join the conversation and have a little fun at Capitalstool.com. If you are a new visitor to the Stool, please register and join in! To post your observations and charts, and snide, but good-natured, comments, click here to register. Be sure to respond to the confirmation email which is sent instantly. If not in your inbox, check your spam filter.
