The Pandemic Has the Euro Area and U.S. Trading Places

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- The major economies of the euro area have been rebounding from the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic at a faster pace than the U.S.’s, according to indexes developed by Bloomberg’s economists using high-frequency data such as demand for electricity and usage of public transportation. That’s a departure from a decades-long trend in which the economy of the euro area has largely underperformed that of the U.S. The recent divergence has led to euro gains against the dollar. European stocks are also performing better than American equities. Because the U.S. hasn’t been as successful at controlling the coronavirus spread or protecting jobs and incomes, the recovery is showing signs of stalling stateside.