Employment, lending key to sustained recovery

Jean-Francois Boulier, CEO of Aviva Investors France, made time last week on his return to Europe from Shanghai, where the firm just held a board meeting. He was in a reasonably upbeat mood, thanks both to the growth story in Asia as well as what he sees as signs that Western economies may be able to enjoy a sustained recovery in 2010. Although his main job is to run Aviva's business in France - the firm's largest on continental Europe, with some €70 billion ($104 billion) of assets …