Greetings from Europe, where all appearances of trouble with the economies of the European Union have disappeared from view, blocked out by multiplying building cranes, full restaurants and packed stores.
The recession that started in the United States seven years ago is now the longest and deepest in Europe in more than three decades. The U.S. began recovering five years ago, but Europe’s recovery is only about a year old. In the last two years, European stocks have risen about 30% yet still offer good value. And there are two interesting experiments being conducted by central banks at the moment. In America, the Fed is tightening by winding down the supply of money it has been pumping into the economy. In Europe, the central bank is doing the opposite -- aggressively stimulating the economy, including charging banks for holding onto too much cash.
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