Euro zone factory slump deepens but Asia perks up

By Jonathan Cable and Kim Coghill – Euro zone factories sank deeper into recession in December as new orders tumbled, business surveys showed on Wednesday (Jan 2), a sharp contrast to continuing signs of revival in China.

“It’s pretty grim really,” said Jonathan Loynes at Capital Economics. “These surveys are pointing to a pretty deep recession. If the German industrial sector is contracting quite sharply it is pretty hard to see where growth across the euro zone as a whole is going to come from.”

Germany, Europe‘s largest economy, saw its crucial manufacturing sector shrink for the 10th straight month and at a faster pace, while French data showed a decline in all but one of the past 17 months. The slump in Spain deepened, while Italy’s index, although improved, remained below 50 for the 17th month. more> http://tinyurl.com/bkoxzz8

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• Euro zone factory downturn deepens in December (theglobeandmail.com)
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Anti-austerity strikes sweep Europe

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By Carlos Ruano and Andrei Khalip – Police and protesters clashed in Spain on Wednesday (Nov 14) as millions of workers went on strike across Europe to protest spending cuts they say have made the economic crisis worse.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled, car factories and ports were at a standstill and trains barely ran in Spain and Portugal where unions held their first ever coordinated general strike. more> http://tinyurl.com/agbpp5h

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• Anti-austerity strikes sweep southern Europe (news.terra.com)
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• Anti-austerity strikes sweep southern Europe (sott.net)
• ‘Enough is enough!’ Anti-austerity strikes sweep Europe (oyiabrown.com)
• Anti-austerity strikes sweep across Europe (theglobeandmail.com)
• Anti-austerity strikes sweep Europe on day of action (abc.net.au)
• Anti-austerity strikes sweep southern Europe. (greatriversofhope.wordpress.com)
• ‘Enough is enough!’ Anti-austerity strikes sweep Europe (business.financialpost.com)
• Europe Faces a Multi-National General Strike Against Austerity (amresolution.com)

Why the U.S. Has a Worse Youth Unemployment Problem than Europe

By Peter Gumbel – The latest unemployment statistics released this week on both sides of the Atlantic show that the number of jobless is continuing to rise in Europe (pdf) far above the rate in the U.S., and the picture is especially bleak for young Europeans under the age of 25. In the 27 E.U. nations as a whole, the youth unemployment rate rose to 22.8% in September, up from 21.7% the previous year. In Greece and Spain, that proportion is over 50%. In the U.S., meanwhile, the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in October, at 7.9%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Nov. 2. And the U.S. rate of unemployment among young people under 25 was 16%. more> http://tinyurl.com/acye3od

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• Why the U.S. Has a Worse Youth Employment Problem Than Europe (business.time.com)
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• Youth unemployment in Europe (jobmarketmonitor.com)
• Oct. Jobs Up 171,000, Unemployment At 7.9% (browardnetonline.com)
• The Depressing Truth About Europe’s Youth Unemployment Nightmare (businessinsider.com)
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Merkel raises new hurdles on EU bank union

By Angelika Stricker and Luke Baker – German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised new hurdles on Friday (Oct 19) to using the euro zone‘s rescue fund to inject capital directly into ailing banks from next year, dashing Spain’s hopes of soon removing the cost from its strained national debt. more> http://tinyurl.com/8phpx73

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Doubts plague Europe’s pledge for banking union

By John O’Donnell – Concerns are growing among European investors and lawmakers that plans for a eurozone banking union will end up half-baked, with the financial backstops required to underpin the ambitious scheme unlikely to be in place for years.

“Originally the idea of a banking union was to have deposit guarantees to stop the outflow of money from Spain,” said Sharon Bowles, who chairs the European Parliament‘s influential economic and monetary affairs committee.

“But they are shying away from mutualization and all you are left with is supervision, which if left on its own would have more drawbacks than benefits. It could split the (EU) single market.” more> http://tinyurl.com/9mmttj3

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• Analysis: Euro crisis tests limits of “French exception”, Paul Taylor, Reuters
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