European recession deeper, longer than expected
May 4, 2009 – 3:21 pmEurope will suffer a deeper and longer recession than previously thought, the European Commission warned on Monday, forecasting that both the EU and eurozone economies would contract 4.0 per cent in 2009.
The estimate marked a dramatic downgrade of the European economic outlook after the European Union’s executive arm forecast in January that the eurozone economy would shrink only 1.9 per cent and the EU economy 1.8 per cent.
The commission also forecast that what has turned out to be Europe’s worst recession since the end of World War 11 would drag into 2010 when both the eurozone and EU economies would shrink another 0.1 per cent.
In its last forecasts from January, the commission predicted that the 16 nations using the euro would eke out growth of 0.4 per cent in 2010 and the 27-nation EU 0.5 per cent. Bad news for business sector……..
Source:http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/latest/story/0,4574,331391,00.html?