The Greek economy will only return to growth in 2014 after a four-year recession that will shrink output by 17 percent, EU officials said on Tuesday, warning Athens it needs to cut wages further to bring its public debt to manageable levels. Speaking hours after euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130 billion euro ($172 … Continue reading
Hundreds of thousands of people protested across Spain Sunday against reforms to the labor market they fear will destroy workers’ rights and spending cuts they say are destroying the welfare state. Organizers, including the two largest unions Comisiones Obreras and UGT, said as many as half a million people joined the protest in 57 towns … Continue reading
Last week the European Commission confirmed what everyone suspected: the economies it surveys are shrinking, not growing. It’s not an official recession yet, but the only real question is how deep the downturn will be. And this downturn is hitting nations that have never recovered from the last recession. For all America’s troubles, its gross … Continue reading
Even while the Socialists were still in power, Spain took the initiative in slashing mercilessly into welfare budgets and reducing salaries, vowing to get a handle on a dangerous pile of deficits and debts. The conservative prime minister elected three months ago, Mariano Rajoy, has pursued the cutback campaign even more vigorously, raising taxes and … Continue reading