The eurozone is out of good news. Spain and Ireland have emerged from recession; Greece isn’t far off.
But their resurgence matters less to the trading bloc’s overall health than its two largest members.
Today’s French downgrade is a reminder that efforts to push through public-sector reforms remain unconvincing.
More worrying is that Germany looks exposed to weak foreign trade, in part brought on by events in the Ukraine.
Britain’s economy may be forecast to power away at more than 3% this year, making it one of the best-performing major nations, but how long can it stay so strong if the eurozone, its largest trading partner, looks anything but?
It is all part of the puzzle discussed by Mark Carney at the Bank of England inflation report yesterday.
There are questions over whether we can sustain such an upturn.
What the average worker wants to know, with wage growth so anaemic, is when they can start to feel the good times rolling too.
