But that news was tempered by figures showing that unemployment has gone up for the third month in a row.
Though the euro zone surplus might suggest good things for the future of the region's economy, the positive news was tempered by figures from Eurostat which also showed a slowdown in exports.
For weeks, for months, I had been trying to control my temper, figuring it I could handle it myself.
Their voluptuousness is tempered by the figure of a seated nude Jain deity as light and cool as a rain cloud.
A hot-tempered figure, he had led a chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that the State Commission of Investigation found had operated like a paramilitary organization, with officers carrying guns and night-vision goggles.
At a news conference a couple of weeks ago to announce that the city had been reprieved - "We're going to trust Curitiba while also mistrusting it," said Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo - Valcke cut a short-tempered figure.
This growing backlash may fizzle if Jobs, a brilliant but short-tempered figure known for his outsize ego and penchant for control, can tame his demons and persuade media companies to work with Apple.
As they said just a few weeks ago, Britain is a long way from a strong and sustained recovery and so the government should bring forward infrastructure investment right now to create jobs and growth". Osborne's good news was tempered by official figures showing that factory output dropped 0.8% in May, rather than rising 0.2% as economists had forecast.
The royal grandeur of the play's leading figures is tempered by their outsize ordinariness.
Any relief, though, should be tempered by the latest figures from the federal Energy Information Administration, which showed that New York State had the highest electric rates in the lower 48 in July.
Francis Bacon's lithograph of a twisted figure tempers the happy-family photos atop the piano.
