Why Europe's Economy Matters For The U.S., In 1 Graph

Why does Europe's endless debt crisis matter for the U.S.? Here's one reason.

In the '90s, the economies of Europe and the U.S. were largely independent of one another. But in the past decade, as the graph below shows, they've risen and fallen together.

So if Europe's debt crisis drags on, and the continent's economy keeps getting worse, there's a good chance the U.S. economy will go down, too.

The graph, from a Citigroup analyst report called "Bad News in a Highly Correlated World," compares economic growth in the U.S. with economic growth in Germany, France and Italy, the three biggest economies in continental Europe.

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Steven C. Wieting, Shawn Snyder / Citigroup Global Markets

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Citigroup Global Markets