There was some important good news out of Europe on Friday, when the eurozone reported its GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2013. Many euro-watchers were worried that Europe might be slipping back into recession, but the numbers were quite good.
The eurozone as a whole expanded by 0.3 percent, which isn't great but is in positive territory, and higher than most economists expected. France and Austria both reported 0.3 percent growth, while Germany was at 0.4 percent and the Netherlands 0.7 percent. Portugal, which many economists feared might be the next nation to collapse a couple of years ago, had solid 0.5 percent growth.
The one European nation whose economy is still contracting is Greece. But Italy, which hadn't seen expansion since early 2011, reported growth of 0.1 percent. It looks as if Europe may finally be in the clear.
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