Europe is emerging steadily from the crisis

Article Excerpt

The major European economies struggled for many years, with slow growth and high debt levels. As a result, the euro lost a lot of value against the U.S. dollar, while European stocks lagged U.S. equities. However, Europe’s prospects look to be improving. Most European Union (EU) nations, led by Germany and France, have, despite recent flare-ups, managed to bring COVID-19 infections and deaths mostly under control. They also provided massive monetary and fiscal support to re-ignite their economies. The euro has already staged a strong comeback against the U.S. dollar, while European equities have performed better than U.S. stocks since markets bottomed out in March. Markets are forward looking The 40.3% annualized decline in European economies in the second quarter of this year was even worse than the 32.9% drop in the U.S. economy. However, markets are forward-looking and the massive 1.8 trillion euros ($2.1 trillion U.S.) in regional stimulus spend has helped to protect consumer confidence. This package includes joint borrowing of 750 billion euros. The…