The eurozone’s gross domestic product…shrank by 14.4% on an annual basis, far exceeding the 4.8% contraction in the U.S. economy over the same period. That largely reflects Europe’s earlier and broader lockdown….Some rebound in activity in the eurozone is expected in the second half of the year, but economists no longer expect the lost output to be quickly recovered. ECB economists expect the economy to shrink by between 5% and 12% this year, Ms. Lagarde said.
There’s not really much to say about this. These are Great Depression numbers. The only silver lining is that modern Europe’s social democracies are better placed to stay on an even keel than we are—though a lot of that depends on how they handle the crushing economic blow that CV19 has brought to southern European countries.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, though, I’ll point out that I learned of this from the Wall Street Journal, which gave it modest placement below its main story along with a bland headline: “Record Contraction in the Eurozone Bodes Ill for Quick Global Rebound.” They would have paid more attention to a thousand-point drop in the Dow. It’s pretty obvious that no one is treating this like a “real” drop of 14.4 percent.
And we respect that! But maybe you’re of a mind to support our work directly instead? We have until December 31 to raise the last $400,000 we need to keep our nonprofit newsroom running at full strength into 2026. Will you make a gift today?
We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism?
Billionaires own the media,
but they don’t own us.
At Mother Jones we know these aren’t conventional times, and they require unconventional coverage. That’s what deliver every day: fierce, independent journalism you can’t find elsewhere. Perhaps never in the history of our country has that been more necessary than now. But we can’t do it without reader support—your support. Please chip in today.
Billionaires own the media,
but they don’t own us.
At Mother Jones we know these aren’t conventional times, and they require unconventional coverage. That’s what deliver every day: fierce, independent journalism you can’t find elsewhere. Perhaps never in the history of our country has that been more necessary than now. But we can’t do it without reader support—your support. Please chip in today.
