Spain back in recession after first-quarter contraction

le=”text-align: justify; “>The Spanish economy is officially in recession, according to the latest figures, BBC reports.

The National Statistics Institute said the economy shrank 0.3% over the three months to the end of March, the second consecutive quarterly contraction.

But the contraction was not quite as much as economists had been expecting.

Concern over the weakness of the economy and the deficit have driven up the cost of borrowing for Spain, raising fears it will need a bailout.

Separately, Standard and Poor’s downgraded the credit ratings of nine Spanish banks, including Santander and BBVA.

A report in the Financial Times on Monday said that the Spanish government is considering helping the banking industry by allowing them to put bad loans into a government-organised fund.  Read more... (1511 words, 12 images)

Armenian News