More Proof That The European Recession Has Come To An End

That wasn't to say that things weren't a gigantic mess. Unemployment is still enormous, and the political situation is tenuous in many countries.The Euro is still deeply flawed.

But the data is turning the corner left and right, and banks are beginning to expand available credit again.

And now (via Josh Brown) comes more evidence in the form of car sales.

Nina Bains at WSJ rounds up what the automakers are saying about the European market:

Daimler AG said it expects its passenger car sales to rise further in the second half of the year alongside “significantly better” earnings as Europe’s battered car market starts to turn a corner.

Meanwhile, French rival Renault SA's global vehicle registrations perked up in the second quarter of this year, partially offsetting a 4.7% drop in the first quarter.

Shares in Renault rallied over 5% Friday following first-half results, with analysts cheered by a strong performance in the auto division.

Auto makers across the pond are also steadily becoming more optimistic about Europe’s prospects.

Ford Motor Co. F +0.65% brightened its outlook for the rest of the year after second-quarter profit raced ahead, helped by an improvement in its European division.

Are things still horrible? Absolutely. Is the data on the mend. Clearly.