Two economies – Australia and Canada – have
recently seen a drop in rates, caused by an overall weakness in their
respective economies. Neither are heading toward a recession, but both
are clearly suffering from a certain level of malaise. Both are also
dependent on raw material exports, meaning the drop in commodity prices
is seriously harming both. Japan may be making a slight comeback – at
least based on this week’s numbers – but they are hardly out of the
deflationary woods yet. The US and the UK are both showing some really
strong results. And, the EU is also showing some signs of life.
Germany is still growing and Spain is really starting to come alive.
France is slowing, but their numbers have been just barely negative.
Overall, it could be argued that we’re beginning to see positive signs
from the EU QE announcement, but we certainly don’t have enough data to
make a definitive call.
