UH-OH: EUROZONE GROWTH A PATHETIC .2% - BARELY ABOVE RETRACTION...

Economic growth in the 17 countries that use the euro sagged to a lackluster quarterly rate of 0.2 percent in the second quarter as Germany's expansion slowed sharply.

The official figures from the European Union statistics agency are more downbeat news for the global economy. They were well short of the 0.8 percent figure from the first quarter, and follow disappointing second-quarter growth reported in the U.S.

WE ARE IN A VIRTUAL GLOBAL REESSION.

LOWER OIL PRICES AND A HIGHER YUAN ARE THE ONLY EXTERNALS THAT CAN QUICKLY HELP EUROPE.

I DON'T THINK EITHER WILL HAPPEN - DESPITE BEING IN OPEC'S AND CHINA'S INTEREST.

SO WE ARE HEADED FOR WORSE, HARDER TIMES. SIGH.