As Germany and France rebound, global recovery grows

Germany and France, the two largest economies in Europe posted modest third quarter GDP growth. Germany's economy grew 0.7% in the period that ended September 30 and France announced a 0.3% improvement. In the second quarter, both countries had also reported a tiny up-tick in GDP.

These tiny advances were consistent with growth in other wealthy nations, particularly the U.S. They were also almost certainly caused by the stimulus packages that many E.U. nations have in place. That raises the question of how developed countries will fare once their governments stop pumping liquidity into the financial system.