Hopes of a swift bounce back after the poor third quarter had already faded towards the end of the year, but the 0.2% growth in GDP remains disappointing nevertheless. After hopes of 2.5% growth at the beginning of the year, 2018 annual growth has turned out to be only 1.8%. The end of the year was marked by a disappointing recovery in auto production in Germany, downside risks further impacting confidence and yellow vest protests in France. The persistence in the growth decline indicates that there is more to it than one-offs with downside risks persisting early in 2019 as well. Italy saw growth decline by -0.2% in ... (full story)