Europe Returns to Recession

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By Trey Thoelcke Published

Europe has dropped into recession, or nearly so. Eurostat reported that third-quarter gross domestic product in the euro-area fell 0.1%, compared with the second quarter. Among the EU27, GDP registered a 0.1% improvement. In the second quarter, both regions had negative GDP of 0.2%.

The drag was from the countries that would be expected — Portugal (-1.1%), Spain (-0.3%) and Italy (-0.2%). The news will not affect bailout plans. There is nothing in the report that was not expected.

Eurostat contrasted the GDP of the region with that Japan and the United States, but with the drop in Europe that contrast may be much less in the fourth quarter.

During the third quarter of 2012, GDP increased by 0.5% in the United States, compared with the previous quarter (after +0.3% in the second quarter of 2012) and fell by 0.9% in Japan (after +0.1%). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP rose by 2.3% in the United States (after +2.1% in the previous quarter) and by 0.2% in Japan (after +3.4%).

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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