Although Germany is leading the pack, businesses throughout the euro area are feeling perkier.

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Meanwhile the private banks seem perkier, with their share of loans beginning to rise.

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In June the World Bank issued a perkier-than-usual report on the Palestinian economy, predicting that it would grow this year by 5%.

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In the past two years, Bulgaria has looked perkier than Romania.

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Guys tend to react positively toward colors, which look perkier and more fun than allover black, which can come across as too severe, especially in the summer.

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Then, as now, the pundits were predicting a perkier economy.

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It is hardly surprising that markets are perkier.

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But policymakers' reluctance to let their currencies rise faster against the dollar means that their monetary policy is, in effect, being set by America's Federal Reserve, and is therefore too lax for these perkier economies.

ECONOMIST: Asia