Commentary Bank failures, an artificial intelligence-led bull market, persistent inflation, eurozone recession, France engulfed in riots, and perhaps the biggest U.S. presidential corruption scandal ever. Looking back on the first half of 2023, it is hard to believe the extraordinary events and outright surprises of recent months. Some of the possibilities I forecast in January…
2023: A Year of Surprises
ECB Lifts Interest Rates to 22-year Highs
LONDON—The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the eighth successive time, as expected, on Thursday and signalled further policy tightening, as it battles high inflation. The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro also said it expected inflation to stay above its 2 percent target through 2025 and hinted once again…
20-Nation Eurozone Economy Falls Into Technical Recession
The 20-nation eurozone economy fell into a technical recession in the first three months of 2023, according to data from the European statistics agency Eurostat, published June 8. Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP), seasonally adjusted, dropped by 0.1 percent in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2022, according to revised data. In the fourth quarter…
Eurozone Business Growth Solid in May but Shows Signs of Easing: Flash PMI
LONDON—Eurozone business growth remained resilient but slowed slightly more than thought this month as the bloc’s dominant services industry lost a little of its shine and the downturn in the manufacturing sector deepened, a survey showed on Tuesday. HCOB’s flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the bloc, compiled by S&P Global and seen as…
Eurozone Grows Marginally at Start of 2023 After Stagnation
BRUSSELS—The eurozone grew only marginally in the first three months of 2023 and at a rate lower than market expectations after stagnation at the end of last year, preliminary data showed on Friday. Gross domestic product in the eurozone expanded by 0.1 percent in the first quarter, below expectations in a Reuters poll for 0.2…
Eurozone Recovery Gathers Pace on Services Boost in April: PMI
The eurozone economic recovery has unexpectedly gathered pace this month as the bloc’s dominant services industry saw already-buoyant demand rise, more than offsetting a deepening downturn in manufacturing, surveys showed. The strong services performance could mean that wage pressures continue in the region, complicating the European Central Bank’s efforts to tame inflation, some economists noted….
Eurozone Labor Costs Jump 5.7 Percent Year on Year in 4th Quarter
BRUSSELS—Eurozone labor costs jumped in the last three months of 2022 and third-quarter data was revised up as well, but the rise of the wage component was still roughly half the increase in consumer inflation, data showed on Friday. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said labor costs in the 19 countries that shared the…
Eurozone Recovery Gathers Pace, Allays Fears of Recession: PMI
LONDON—The recovery in eurozone business activity gathered pace last month as growth accelerated in the bloc’s dominant services industry, a survey showed, providing the latest piece of evidence suggesting the currency union will avoid a recession. S&P Global’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), seen as a good barometer of overall economic health, climbed to an…
Eurozone Inflation Eases in February but Core Prices Surge
FRANKFURT—Eurozone inflation fell less than expected last month and underlying price growth surged, reinforcing the case for the European Central Bank to keep raising interest rates at a brisk pace, data from Eurostat showed on Thursday. Consumer price inflation in the 20 countries sharing the euro currency eased to 8.5 percent in February from 8.6…
Eurozone Factory Output Returned to Growth in February: PMI
LONDON—Overall activity in the eurozone’s manufacturing sector contracted again in February but output increased for the first time since May as supply chains continued to heal, a survey showed on Wednesday. S&P Global’s final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipped to 48.5 in February from January’s 48.8, in line with a preliminary reading but still…
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