A Bad Datapoint Out Of Germany, And A Good Datapoint Out Of Italy

How are we looking today on our call that the European recession is coming to an end?

It's a split so far.

First, there's one bad datapoint out of Germany. Retail sales unexpectedly slumped 1.5%, which is the worst month since December 2012.

Meanwhile, Italian unemployment unexpected dropped to 12.1% from 12.2%. It had been expected to rise to 12.3%.

Coupled with the recent drop in Spain's unemployment rate, there is evidence of a turn in the peripheral labor market.