The euro area remains in a state of flux and appears to beunsustainable in its present form. The outcome of the crisis may beunknown for years and a judgement on the project's success orfailure may be out of reach for decades.
In the meantime, analysts, portfolio managers and traders willstill have daily, weekly, quarterly and annual benchmarks. Theywill have to analyze economic developments in the euro area andtheir impacts on financial assets. The objective of this book is toprovide a framework for that analysis that is comprehensible tomost financial market participants.
The book begins with a focus on coincident and leading economicindicators for the euro area. The following section looks ateuro-area institutions. The next chapter focuses on the eurocrisis. It attempts to provide an explanation of its origins and aglimpse of the potential outcomes. In addition, the tools needed toanalyze the crisis as it evolves are presented. The lastsections provide information unique to the economies of Germany,France, the U.K., Switzerland, Sweden and Norway.