IHT: French regulator sees 'partial decoupling' of US and EU economies - by Matthew Saltmarsh

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French regulator sees 'partial decoupling' of US and EU economies - by Matthew Saltmarsh

While there is increasing evidence that the euro-area economy is slowing, most of the factors that are contributing to the bleak outlook in the United States are not present on the Continent, according to the governor of the Bank of France, Christian Noyer. In an interview, Noyer also said he did not expect any "strong shocks" from French banks as they report their 2007 earnings, despite the constant stream of major losses by banks in the United States. Noyer was at pains to stress that consumers and financial institutions in France and the rest of the euro zone appeared relatively insulated from the effects of the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market across the Atlantic. "Historically, there was some correlation between the U.S. and the EU economic cycles," Noyer said. "Now it seems there could be at least a partial decoupling. That's not to say that we're immune from a weakening U.S. economy, but there are a series of factors that should dampen the effect."