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The Spanish government today slashed its forecast for economic growth after a sharp leap in unemployment. It coincided with a set of downbeat purchasing managers' indices and slumping consumer confidence surveys from France, Germany and further afield in the eurozone.The news sparked warnings that the euro area may pitch into recession before the end of the year, underlining the speed with which it has declined in the wake of the credit crunch."Overall, the conditions in the labour market make a recession a very likely outcome for Spain."With the property market - a major chunk of the economy - in what even housing minister Beatriz Corredor describes as "deep crisis", Spanish politicians have blamed the European Central Bank, which raised borrowing costs earlier this month.

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Originally posted by bjm:
France and Spain stumble. Rentokil shares in freefall. Brown to lead us through recession.

Thank God its Friday.

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The International Monetary Fund has abdicated into schizophrenia. It has upgraded its 2008 world forecast from 3.7pc to 4.1pc growth, whilst warning of a "chance of a global recession". Plainly, the IMF cannot or will not offer any useful insights.

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Originally posted by Louboutin:

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Originally posted by bjm:
France and Spain stumble. Rentokil shares in freefall. Brown to lead us through recession.

Thank God its Friday.

The global economy is at the point of maximum danger

bjm, if I gave this headline its own stage do think it would be overkill?

I think its because I have'nt had a good run, and need to get some anger out

Then I can relax because we all know Gordon and Darling will guide as through, they will set the sails in the right direction, enabling us here in the UK to weather the storm, with them at the helm we have no worries, we are safe, they are our guiding light through rough waters.

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The International Monetary Fund has abdicated into schizophrenia. It has upgraded its 2008 world forecast from 3.7pc to 4.1pc growth, whilst warning of a "chance of a global recession". Plainly, the IMF cannot or will not offer any useful insights.

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Originally posted by Louboutin:
European recession looms as France and Spain stumble

Global ressession, the housholds in Spain, have not got £trillion worth of perosnal debt, they may well be better placed to weather the storm. China has it's own large forever emerging home grown consumer demand to help see them through.

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The Spanish government today slashed its forecast for economic growth after a sharp leap in unemployment. It coincided with a set of downbeat purchasing managers' indices and slumping consumer confidence surveys from France, Germany and further afield in the eurozone.The news sparked warnings that the euro area may pitch into recession before the end of the year, underlining the speed with which it has declined in the wake of the credit crunch."Overall, the conditions in the labour market make a recession a very likely outcome for Spain."With the property market - a major chunk of the economy - in what even housing minister Beatriz Corredor describes as "deep crisis", Spanish politicians have blamed the European Central Bank, which raised borrowing costs earlier this month.

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Not sure about Spain but France does not have the same problems as the UK although it does have others related to restrictive practices within it's workforce. The big difference however is the whereas the UK has relied on consumer debt through re-mortgaging/credit cards to maintain growth, French lending institutions have been far more responsible in their lending and therefore there is not the level of personal debt that will cripple the UK economy for many years to come.

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Originally posted by lostinfrance:
The French look after the French. Thats why they are self sufficient in food and energy. The UK has spent 30 years selling off anything of value to the highest bidder for short term gain.

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The final bottle of British-made HP Sauce rolled off the production line in Birmingham Friday as production of the famed condiment shifts to the Netherlands.The final shift ended early in the morning, although some workers will remain on for several days to clean the factory where the sauce has been made for more than a century.The company that owns the sauce, U.S.-based Heinz Co., announced last spring it would shut the factory and manufacture it in the Netherlands.The company said the shift would improve productivity and ensured the sauce would taste the same. The move threw 125 people out of work.Factory employee John Phipps calls the closure a "sad loss."

"It's such a British icon," he said. "Nobody else likes HP Sauce like the British people. We just can't understand why it's being sent to Holland."