FF - EU ECONOMY = Eurozone retail sales fell 0.8% in November + Services: Strong growth in Germany and France in December contrasted with weakness in Spain and Irelan

[mEDITate-OR:
not see the wealth of information from FinFacts, in Ireland about Europe.
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While the Irish debate, and vote, on whether or not to join the Eurozone, they follow very closely what is happening there. Not too surprising, since their economic & political survival depends on trade and bank loans with & from there.
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What we see is that member states in Europe pay far more attention to their neighbors than we do to Canada or Mexico or Central/South America.
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Among the member states for which data are available, total retail trade fell in nine and rose in eight.
Te largest decreases were observed in Portugal (-4.2%), Lithuania (-1.9%) and Belgium (-1.5%)
and the highest increases in Malta (+5.5%), France (+0.9%) and Estonia (+0.7%).
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The expansion was led by strong growth in Germany and robust expansions in France and Austria. Italy saw a marked improvement in its rate of increase, which hit a five-month high. Growth accelerated in the Netherlands (seven-month peak) and Ireland (fastest since June), while Spain saw renewed expansion following November’s decline. Although Greek manufacturing remained mired in deep recession, the rate of contraction eased to a five-month low.
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"Growth has become increasingly lop-sided, however, with the periphery seeing a worrying deterioration in growth prospects. Near-record growth in Germany and strong expansion in France contrasted with a collapse in growth in Italy to near-stagnation and increased rates of decline in both Spain and Ireland.

"These growth divergences can be attributed to weak domestic demand, notably among households in Italy, Spain and Ireland, which can be linked in turn to austerity policies and economic and political uncertainty. In Germany and France, on the other hand, manufacturing-led growth is increasingly spilling over into higher household confidence, which should help sustain recoveries. National growth differentials in the euro area therefore look unlikely to disappear any time soon."

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FinFacts - EUs ECONOMY
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Eurozone retail sales fell 0.8% in November
http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1021337.shtml
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Eurozone manufacturing growth in December accelerated and job creation rose to 10-year high
http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1021305.shtml
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Services: Strong growth in Germany and France in December
contrasted with weakness in Spain and Ireland
http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1021323.shtml
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