Eurozone releases more Greece aid

2 July 2011 Last updated at 20:42 GMT There have been violent protests against the austerity measures in Greece Eurozone finance ministers have approved the latest tranche of emergency help for the Greek economy.

They will release 12bn euros (?10.4bn, $17.4bn) in the next two weeks to help Greece meet spending commitments and avoid defaulting on its huge debts.

Earlier this week, the Greek parliament passed tough austerity measures demanded by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

MPs backed the measures despite angry protests on the streets of Athens.

The EU and IMF have already agreed to provide Greece with a total of 110bn euros in emergency loans, with eurozone finance ministers discussing the details of a second bail-out designed to help Greece pay its debts until the end of 2014.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos welcomed the eurozone move, saying it "strengthened the country's international credibility".

He added: "What is crucial now is the timely and effective implementation of the decisions taken in parliament, so we can gradually emerge from the crisis in the interest of national economy and the Greek citizens."

'Breathtaking'

Earlier on Saturday, Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski criticised Europe's handling of the Greek debt crisis.

He suggested that too much emphasis had been put on austerity measures and not enough on growth.

And he accused opposition parties in some unnamed eurozone countries of showing "breathtaking short-sightedness" in their opposition to support for Greece.

His comments come after Poland took over the six-month presidency of the European Union (EU) on Friday.

Mr Rostowski will now chair meetings of EU finance ministers, and hopes to join talks among eurozone finance ministers - even though Poland has not adopted the euro as its currency.

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'Slump' in eurozone manufacturing

1 July 2011 Last updated at 10:36 GMT The figures showed weakness across the board Growth in the eurozone's manufacturing sector lost steam in June as both exports and domestic demand slowed, falling to an 18-month low, a key survey has shown.

Markit's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 52.0 last month from 54.6 in May, its lowest reading since December 2009.

Any reading above 50 indicates growth.

Separate figures for May showed eurozone unemployment stable at 9.9%.

"Increasing numbers of countries are showing signs of sliding back into recession," Markit said.

Italy's manufacturing sector shrank for the first time in 20 months, while Spain's contracted for the second month in a row.

Growth in the German and French sectors slowed considerably, while the UK's manufacturing expansion fell to a 21-month low.

Gilles Moec, senior European economist at Deutsche Bank, said the data reflected two main factors: inflation hampering consumer demand and the end of stimulus measures in a number of regions, including the US.

"The weakness is no longer simply in the peripherals, it's now moving to Italy for instance," he told the BBC.

"This is painting a different picture from the one we had a few weeks ago."

Unemployment

The stable unemployment figures for May were widely expected by economists.

The European statistics agency, Eurostat, said 15.51 million people were out of work in May - an increase of 16,000 on the previous month.

However, the unemployment total is far lower than the same month a year ago, down by 551,000.

Unemployment was highest in Spain at 21% with joblessness among under 25's running at 44%.

Monthly figures for Greece were not available.

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Eurozone services growth slows

3 June 2011 Last updated at 09:54 GMT The service sectors in core economies performed better than those in peripheral countries, Markit said Growth in the eurozone services sector slowed slightly in May, while business confidence fell to its lowest level in a year-and-a-half, a survey suggests.

The closely-watched Markit PMI Services index fell to 56.0 from 56.7 in April. Any reading above 50 indicates growth.

However, the rate of job creation increased slightly, Markit said.

France and Germany continued to drive the longer-term recovery in the sector, while Italy, Spain and the Irish Republic saw limited growth, it added.

France recorded "by far the strongest" increase in business activity with the rate of growth only slightly lower than April's figure, which was a 10-year high. Germany also reported "robust" growth.

But outside these two economies "the trend was much weaker", Markit said.

Two-speed recovery

Business expectations for activity in one year's time also fell to their lowest level since November 2009.

This reflected less new business and concerns about the wider economic outlook.

The fall in confidence meant the rate of growth in the service sector was likely to slip further in the coming months, Markit said.

"The first quarter may well therefore be as good as it gets this year," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at the research group.

"Growth disparities between the core and the periphery are a growing concern, as deficit-fighting austerity measures hit domestic demand in the debt-laden periphery, leaving service providers particularly exposed."

However, he said despite the slowdown, the eurozone service sector remained "robust" and should make a "significant contribution" to overall economic growth in the current quarter.

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