Double-Dip Recession Hits Eurozone as Crisis Clouds Swirl

Blog publisher’s comment:

The other day, there was an article in the New York Times Sunday Business section where the author opined that “the Dow Jones average will rise to 20,000 over the next couple of decades.” Quite a prognostication, huh? As I’ve pointed out several times before in posts on Reprographics 101, there are lots of folks who come up with guesses where our economy will be and where the market will be, and, by the time we “get there”, half will be right (or close to right) and half will be wrong (or awfully wrong.) I’d love it if I had a job where someone asked me – and paid me - to guess the future!

Some are now saying that the U.S. is either already in recession again, or close to it. And, some are saying we’re not and that we aren’t going to go there. Here’s an article I found about the Eurozone economy:

Article from Reuters

Posted 10:50AM 07/19/12

Posted under: Economy, International

By Jonathan Cable

LONDON -- The eurozone has sunk back into its second recession since 2009, a Reuters poll predicted on Thursday, as the debt crisis that has ravaged the continent for over two years continues to stifle growth.

A deluge of downbeat data pushed economists to revise down their growth forecasts. And with no end to the debt crisis in sight the chances the European Central Bank will cut rates further from current record lows have increased.

The 17-nation bloc's economy contracted 0.3% last quarter and will shrink 0.1% in the current one, according to median forecasts in the poll of 34 economists taken this week, meeting the technical definition of recession.

"The environment is deteriorating," said Uwe Duerkop at Landesbank Berlin, who sees two quarters of contraction and a flat end to the year.

"The question is how long this recession will last -- we have a chance to come back to growth at the end of the year but if the political crisis stays as it is with no [concrete] decisions there is a risk the recession could be longer."

Here’s a link to the full article that Jonathan Cable wrote:

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/07/19/eurozone-double-dip-recession/