France and Germany share unease

The unexpected decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut interest rates in May reflected its growing unease about the spillover effect of the US economic slowdown. First quarter GDP growth in both France and Germany was weaker than expected, rising just 0.4% and 0.5% respectively from the previous quarter, although poor inventory and construction sector data negatively distorted those results. More recent data for Germany, the region's largest economy, has also been less than encouraging: business confidence fell for the 10th month in a row, industrial production contracted by 1...