Europe's growth lags US again, as Germany remains the eurozone's economic problem child

Europe’s economy enjoyed only modest growth in the April-June quarter even as the U.S. outperformed expectations, highlighting a persistent transatlantic growth gap with Germany, the leading European economy, remaining in the dumps and as hesitant consumers save more, rather than spend on new houses or cars. Gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, rose 0.3% in the second quarter in the 20 countries that use the euro currency, according to official figures released Tuesday by European Union statistics agency Eurostat. Germany, the largest eurozone economy, slid back into contraction, recording a 0.1% fall in output.