As the highly contagious COVID-19 omicron variant spreads rapidly across Europe, many countries are reinstituting lockdowns and mandating vaccinations to combat the spread of the virus. What impact could this have on Europe’s economic recovery? Let’s examine some of the data that will guide us in monitoring the European economies in 2022. The Region Faces a Renewed Surge in Covid Cases: First identified in late November, the highly contagious omicron variant has spread rapidly around the world and is now the dominant Covid variant in many countries. In Europe, the new variant has led to a fourth or fifth wave of ... (full story)