Europe recession deepens: very bad news for everybody

The eurozone suffered its third consecutive quarter of decline at the end of 2012 as exports from leading economies Germany and France sank, deepening a regional recession that has driven unemployment to record highs.

Gross domestic product in the 17-nation euro area fell by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, leaving the eurozone economy 0.5% smaller than it was at the start of the year. The region saw a contraction of 0.1% in the third quarter.

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via Europe recession deepens as exports suffer – Feb. 14, 2013.

Netherlands / Back in recession

The Dutch economy shrank by 0.2% in the final quarter of last year, meaning the Netherlands is now back in recession, according to initial estimates released by the national statistics office CBS on Thursday.

Year-on-year, the economy contracted 0.9% in the final quarter, the CBS said. In the third quarter, the economy shrank by 1% year-on-year. Two successive contractions means the country is officially in recession.

Household spending was down 3.2% in the final quarter, compared with the year earlier period. Investments were down 5.2% but exports provided some relief, showing 3.2% growth.

Earlier this week, the CBS said inflation has now reached 3%, its highest level in four years.

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via DutchNews.nl – Economy contracts again, the Netherlands is back in recession.

Czech Economy in Record-Long Recession as Austerity Bites 

The Czech economic recession stretched to the longest on record in the fourth quarter as the government extended its austerity program and the euro-area crisis curbed demand for exports.

Gross domestic product shrank 0.2 percent from the third quarter of 2012, marking the fourth consecutive quarterly decline, the Prague-based Czech Statistics Office said in a flash estimate today. The drop was smaller than the median estimate for a 0.3 percent contraction in a Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts. Output fell 1.7 percent from the final quarter of 2011, the steepest drop in three years.

The $217 billion economy is suffering from weakening domestic demand, with households and businesses spending less due to government austerity measures and the euro area’s debt crisis. After cutting borrowing costs three times last year to effectively zero, the central bank is navigating an uncharted territory as policy makers debate whether to further ease monetary conditions by weakening the currency.

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via Czech Economy in Record-Long Recession as Austerity Bites – Bloomberg.

Germany and France flirt with recession

Figures out this week have revealed that the Japanese, German and French economies all shrank in the final three months of 2012. A leading Australian academic says the world’s leading economies are facing enormous structural problems.

Transcript

TIM PALMER: The latest figures have revealed the German and French economies went backwards in the final three months of 2012.

They are the supposed to be the two strongest economies in the debt-burdened euro zone.

Just yesterday figures showed the Japanese economy also shrank for the third consecutive quarter.

A leading Australian academic says it’s now clear the world’s leading economies have enormous structural problems.

Here’s finance reporter David Taylor.

DAVID TAYLOR: The world’s leading economies are reeling. Earlier this week Japan announced that it hadn’t been able to find a way out of recession. Despite actively lowering the yen, export demand remains weak.

Now Europe’s two strongest economies have also been caught out relying on exports to generate economic growth.

It’s not been a good year for the euro zone.

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via Germany and France now flirting with recession – Business – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).