Eurotrashed

Worried about Europe? You should be! Via Stuart Staniford, here's the latest bad news from the eurozone: In September, as the chart below shows, industrial orders plunged 6.4% in the euro area (pink line) and 2.3% in the broader EU (black line). Here's Stuart:

There have been indicators suggesting mild contraction for a while — eg retail trade. But this is the first indicator I've seen that looks like the kind of sharp non-linear contraction characteristic of an out-and-out recession. I guess there's always the possibility that October will be better. However, given the financial news flow in the last six weeks, it's hard to imagine too many European executives getting all giddy and excited in approving new projects.

Ms Merkel instead used a three-way summit with France and Italy in Strasbourg to insist that new treaty powers to intervene and punish sinner states remained the key focus of Europe's rescue efforts. She said: "The countries who don't keep to the stability pact have to be punished – those who contravene it need to be penalised. We need to make sure this doesn't happen again."