French economy slides into its second recession

BBC News – 15/05/13
Official figures show that France has entered into its second recession in the past four years, after two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The French economy shrank by 0.2% in the first three months of this year, as it did in the last three months of 2012. Earlier this month, the European Commission warned that France may be entering into another recession before the year’s end. In an attempt to stimulate growth, the ECB cut interest rates to a record low of 0.5%. In addition to a period of low business and consumer confidence, France is facing record unemployment rates of 10.6%, with forecasts showing that it will increase to a higher rate next year. Read More