THE TELEGRAPH: Dire day for Europe as Spain's jobless blasts through 3m and German industry goes into "free-fall"
German exports and industrial orders have both plunged at the steepest rate since modern records began and Spain's unemployment has surged above three million, capping one of the most disastrous days for Europe's economy since the Second World War.
Joaquin Almunia, the European economics commissioner, warned that the picture would turn "dramatically worse" this year. The eurozone's confidence index collapsed from 74.9 to 67.1, the lowest since Brussels started collecting the data in 1985.
"It makes truly dismal reading," said Julian Callow, Europe economist at Barclays Capital. "Industrial sentiment has never experienced such a rapid slump. There is an implosion of demand." >>> By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Friday, January 9, 2009
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