Europe's economy recovers on back of stimulus

When the recession hit last year, European governments were at odds over how to coordinate their fight against the global crisis. Despite that initial dissonance, the countries sharing the euro now seem to be heading toward recovery at a surprisingly similar pace.

Economists say fiscal and monetary boosts across the zone made the difference in helping to pull the continent from its the worst recession in the postwar era.

Signs of a burgeoning recovery have been showing up in indicators across Europe in recent weeks. Manufacturing orders, purchasing managers indices, exports and the European Commission's own economic sentiment indictor have all turned …