After a week of bad news, it's refreshing to hear the International Monetary Fund declaring that a recovery is under way in Europe. Of course, the good news was tempered by a qualification that Europe's bounce is still much weaker than in other parts of the world. "Lending conditions are still very tight, unemployment is high and still rising and, most importantly, people are worried about fiscal sustainability in a number of countries, which is depressing confidence in the outlook," noted the IMF's Luc Everaert.
Meanwhile, the organisation has welcomed the European Union's measures to stabilise its economic and financial system, describing them as "far-reaching steps ... to restore confidence and financial stability in the Euro area".
We can but hope...