London | Economies in the 19-member euro zone grew a collective, and record-smashing, 12.3 per cent in the third quarter – a zinger of a V-shaped recovery. But that was then, this is now.

The bloc's two biggest economies, France and Germany, last week stepped up their lockdowns for at least a month, amid a relentless tide of COVID-19 cases. Plenty of other European countries are following suit, as hospitals and test-trace systems come under strain.