With Friends Like These ...

With friends like these, who needs enemies? This picture (from Pragmatic Capital) compares industrial production in the Eurozone over the last several years.

Everything seems to go swimmingly for the Euros until 2011. Here's the bonus question; what financial event began in late 2010 and continues to this day? (No cheating!)  Okay, it's the European union and the Euro currency struggles.

Oh, and Pragmatic Capital has some other interesting tidbits I'd like to share.

• Spain's stock market is worth 50 percent less than in 2007 and hasn't moved since joining the Euro.
• Italy's market is down 60 percent and is lower than when it joined the Euro.
• Portugal's market is over 60 percent lower and hasn't moved since joining the Euro.
• Greece's market (the most popular example) is down 80 percent.
• Cyprus' market is down 98 percent from its 2007 high. Yes, that's right, 98 percent!

As the title says, with friends like northern Europe, the Mediterranean countries hardly need enemies.