European Market Insight: Europe Mired in Recession

Europe’s economy is sliding into recession again, and worries about the Netherlands are intensifying.

Bicycles are parked in front of row homes in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in a file photo. The Dutch housing market, after a few decades of growth, is stalling. Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

The economic growth in the United States could be stronger. In economics, however, all things are relative. And Americans can feel relatively good about the state of their economy as Europe is mired in another recession.

Yes, GDP was better than expected in the eurozone in the third quarter. It only contracted 0.1 percent since Q2 where -0.2 percent was expected. Overall, it is a relatively mild contraction.

That did nothing to help the stock market, however. The EURO STOXX Index dropped 2.1 percent to close at 2,427 points. The euro was roughly unchanged at $1.2743

Netherlands Underperforms

As expected, Germany still did all right. The continent’s biggest economy was growing tepidly at 0.2 percent. France surprised on the upside, growing at 0.2 percent, as economists originally expected a contraction.