The beatings will continue... - Europe Edition

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Eurostat's report from 5/15 shows that the European continues to suck.  From the NY Times
The 17-nation euro zone contracted by 0.2 percent from the last three months of 2012, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union,reported from Luxembourg, less than the 0.6 percent decline recorded in the fourth quarter, but more than economists’ expectations of a 0.1 percent fall.
Of particular interest,

  • Greece's economy shrank by 5.3%.  (We're no. 1! We're no. 1!)
  • Cyprus by 4.1% (We're better than Greece!)
  • Portugal's shrank by 3.9% (We're better than Cyprus! And Greece!)
  • Ireland stayed flat (Yay! We're not cratering! (ignore the fact that we're not growing please...))
Seriously, this is good news? That Austerity Now! Austerity Forever! is working?

I guess the EU/Germany is going to continue to bleed the patient till, well, whatever.

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