I know you don't hear this on CNBC or the evening news, but the European economy is suffering more than the U.S. economy right now. Last Tuesday, it was announced that Germany, Europe's largest economy, contracted by about 1% in the second quarter. Also on Tuesday, it was announced that the euro-zone's service sector contracted in July and is now at a five-year low. Due to declines in both the manufacturing and services indices, the overall PMI index fell to 47.8, tying a seven-year low. On that same dismal Tuesday - right before the ECB meeting - Eurostat also announced that June retail sales in the euro-zone posted a larger than expected 0.6% decline compared to May, and a huge 3.1% decline from June of 2007.

Over in Japan, the Tokyo government said their economy was "deteriorating," thereby admitting that its economic expansion may have ended after more than a six-year run, the longest in postwar history. Japan's Cabinet Office said its leading coincident index, which tracks various economic data, fell to 101.7 in June from 103.3 in May. Its index of lagging indicators, which measures economic performance in the recent past, also fell to 102.3 in June from 103.4 in May. The moving average of the coincident index fell for a fourth straight month. The Cabinet Office is obligated to describe the economy as "deteriorating" if the three-month moving average declines for three or more months, but most analysts believe that Japan entered a recession late last year.