Comments | the_recession: Q1 European & Asian GDP Largely Worse Than Expected

cieldumort in the_recession

Q1 European & Asian GDP Largely Worse Than Expected

May 15, 2009 03:36

Worst Global Recession Since Depression Deepened in Q1

Bloomberg:
German, Italy Economies Shrank at Record Pace in First QuarterThe German and Italian economies contracted more than forecast in the first quarter, slumping the most on record after the global financial crisis crippled exports and investment across Europe ( Read more... )

finland, hong kong, global recession, asia, depression circa 2009, germany, italy, gdp, netherlands, europe, china

Comments 2

capthek May 15 2009, 12:23:39 UTC

Ouch, Finland.

The fact that these numbers always take so long to get out and then revised really allows for people to say that was then but this is now and the times are good for long periods of time without getting called on it.

cieldumort May 15 2009, 16:37:43 UTC

Ouch, Finland.

Finland was also not doing much worse YoY, and even better QoQ, than Germany (Europe's largest economy), or Hong Kong (Asia's little powerhouse).

You have to pay attention to how these numbers are being reported.

German QoQ contraction of -3.8%, simply extrapolated, implies an annualized growth rate in the first quarter there of about -15.2%.

Hong Kong QoQ contraction of -4.3%, simply extrapped, implies an annualized growth rate in the first quarter of about -17.2%.

All three of these economies are deep in Depressionland, based on GDP, over the last two or three quarters.

As for people being able to say that was then and this is now... yea, sorta.. but Jan-March wasn't all that long ago. It's not like these people are comparing the current month (May) with data from, say, October-December of last year.