(Fading) light at the end of the tunnel
Economic troubles will keep crisis bubbling
By R.A. | WASHINGTON
MARTIN WOLF condenses my recent euro-crisis fretting into a succint point:
Those who believe the eurozone’s trials are now behind it must assume either an extraordinary economic turnround or a willingness of those trapped in deep recessions to soldier on, year after grim year. Neither assumption seems at all plausible.
We can't yet speak to the willingness of those trapped to soldier on. The extraordinary economic turnaround, however, remains a distant dream. Flash estimates of euro-zone economic activity showed a quickening downturn in February, ruining hopes that the slower pace of contraction in January might represent green shoots. The worst news? French economic activity slowed ever faster, touching a 47-month low. And so the pressure in the cooker rises...
More from Free exchange
Religious competition was to blame for Europe’s witch hunts
Many children are still persecuted as alleged witches in Africa for similar reasons
Has BRICS lived up to expectations?
The bloc of big emerging economies is surprisingly good at keeping its promises
How to interpret a market plunge
Whether a sudden sharp decline in asset prices amounts to a meaningless blip or something more depends on mass psychology