Signs of growth convergence provide little comfort

Q3's meagre rise in euro-zone GDP clearly was disappointing, but there were some signs that growth within the region is converging. The slowdown was largely down to weaker growth in Germany and France. By contrast, GDP growth in Italy and Spain was stronger than in Q2. But there are still huge divergences in the levels of GDP within the region. What's more, the huge amounts of spare capacity in the periphery suggest that deflation there is still a real danger, implying that the crisis is not yet over.