Germany and France are key to sustained growth

The main European stock markets have delivered double-digit returns in each of the last four years. But 2007 is shaping up to offer something different. There were immediate obstacles at the start of the year, not least the VAT increase in Germany and the French Presidential elections. And then there was the challenge brought by the widening of the EU, with Romania and Bulgaria joining. But there was good news for the eurozone when the Central Bank chose not to follow the Bank of England's lead in raising interest rates in January. If interest rates do go up, it will almost certainly st...