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Most Europeans Spending Less This Season

eurosAccording to Harris Interactive, the results are not good for the Christmas rush. The company's results in Europe and the U.S. show that most people are planning to spend less, or have already done so. 

Per the firm, 56% of Italians and 48% of Americans, 45% of French, 43% of Spanish and 42% of British people say they will have spent less this pre-Christmas season than last year. Germans are doing better. Only 27% of Germans plan to spend less.

The Financial Times/Harris online survey polled 6,165 people ages 16 to 64 in late November and early December.

The poll also found that about one-half of Spaniards, 43% of Britons, 38% of Americans, and just over one-third of Italians and Germans say they expect the current recession to end between one and two years from now.

Most of the employed adults surveyed--four in five Germans, and three-quarters of Americans and Britons--were not at all or only a little concerned that they would lose their jobs within the next year as a result of this recession.

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A majority of Spaniards, French, Italians, and Germans and 48% of Americans think the Euro could overtake the U.S. dollar in global importance within the next five years.

Europeans are also--per the poll--relatively sanguine about the U.S. President-elect. Two-thirds of Germans, 61% of French adults and of Spaniards and Italians say the election of Barack Obama has given then a better view of the United States than they harbored during George W. Bush's era. But almost half of British adults (48%) say their view is no different than it was before.

Europeans are less optimistic about how effective Obama will be in fixing the economy. Over half of the Spaniards, Germans, Britons and half of the French said it is only somewhat likely that Barack Obama will deliver the changes that he promised.

Generally, the poll suggested that adults in the five European countries polled are generally feeling better about the U.S. and the incoming administration, but uncertain about whether any of the changes Obama wants to make will actually happen, per the firm.

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