HEY, GREAT TIME FOR A RATE HIKE:

Eurozone growth hit by shock dips in Germany, Italy (Brian Love, Feb 15, 2005, Reuters)

Eurozone growth almost ground to a halt as Germany and Italy flirted with recession late in 2004 but high-spending French and Spanish shoppers ensured 2 percent growth for the year as a whole.

The European Commission said however it saw no reason to cut its forecast for a repeat 2 percent expansion this year, and the International Monetary Fund said it was not pessimistic about the bloc's growth prospects.

The Commission 2005 growth forecast is much weaker than projections of 3.5 percent upwards in the United States but better than recent years in the euro zone.