In 2001, investors in Europe suffered much the same fate as their UK and US counterparts. In 2002, the prospects are that much brighter, thanks to lower share price levels and structural reforms in the pipeline
Look back just over a year and Europe was being tipped as one of the best performing markets for 2001. The theory at the time was that, although the US would slow down, Europe would not be seriously affected. This rosy outlook was largely based on what now appears to be a rather dubious argument: as the European economy had not kept pace with the US on the way up, its performance would be similarly muted on the downside. The European Central Bank adopted a similarly optimistic line, refusing to push down interest rates with Alan Greenspan's rapidity. This supposed benign environment en...
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