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Spanish unemployment tops 27%, protests near parliament

Agence France-PresseApril 25, 2013 13:45
Spain's unemployment rate surged past 27 percent to a new record in the first quarter of 2013, official data showed Thursday as a deep recession ravaged the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. A record unemployment number also emerged in neighbouring France, the eurozone's second-biggest economy, as the labour ministry said jobseekers in France surged by 36,900 in March to 3.224 million, beating a record set in 1997. Spain's new figure put its jobless rate just below that of bailed-out Greece -- the highest in the European Union at 27.2 percent.

Spain joblessness hits new high, fuelling austerity debate

April 25, 2013 03:30
By Paul Day and Sarah White MADRID (Reuters) - Unemployment in Spain jumped to a record 27.2 percent, data showed on Thursday, fuelling a European debate over whether to ditch austerity policies and switch to reviving economic growth. More than 6 million Spaniards were out of work in the first three months of this year, raising the rate in the euro zone's fourth biggest economy to a level unseen since records began in the 1970s.

AFP World News Agenda

Agence France-PresseApril 24, 2013 17:45
What's happening around the world Thursday: -- TOP STORIES -- + 127 dead after Bangladesh garment factory building collapses + Jobless figures for France, Spain expected to rise + Putin reaches out to nation with televised Q&A DHAKA: Full coverage as rescue workers in Bangladesh hunt for survivors trapped in the rubble of a collapsed garment factory building where 127 people died and more than 1,000 were injured (BANGLADESH-DISASTER-BUILDING-CLOTHING)

'Probable' Spain will cut budget further

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 13:03
It is "probable" that Spain will have to cut its state budget further this year, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Tuesday, as his government struggles to bring down its deficit. But the reduction should be less than that seen in 2012, when state finances were severely tightened, he told a Madrid news conference. "We won't make cuts like those we did last year, but it is probable that for some budget lines they will have to be made," Rajoy said.

Spain's Rajoy opens door to new tax hikes, spending cuts

April 23, 2013 12:30
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday opened the door to new tax hikes and spending cuts in order to keep the country's public deficit in check if the economy deteriorates further. Spain will publish on Friday updated economic forecasts as well as a new program of reforms for the next two years. The economy ministry said this week the economy would likely fall by 1 percent to 1.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, which compares to an earlier forecast of 0.5 percent.

EU probes Greek airlines merger

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 11:31
EU anti-trust authorities said Tuesday they had opened a full probe into the planned takeover of Greece's Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines. The European Commission said that the merger of the two main Greek airlines offering passenger air transport services on Greek domestic and international routes raised "concerns that the transaction may lead to price increases and poorer service." The companies now have until September 3 to respond.

EU launches probe into suspected chipmaker cartel

Agence France-PresseApril 22, 2013 06:16
EU anti-trust authorities announced on Monday a formal cartel probe into smartcard chipmakers -- the motors for everything from bank and mobile SIM cards to electronic ID papers, after talks aimed at securing an amicable settlement broke down. "The European Commission has informed a number of suppliers of smart card chips of its preliminary view that they may have participated in a cartel, in breach of EU antitrust rules," said a statement from European Union Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

Thousands in Spain protest health privatisation

Agence France-PresseApril 21, 2013 10:00
Thousands of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, many wearing white lab coats, and their supporters marched in Madrid Sunday to protest against government spending cuts and plans to partly privatise medical services. The demonstrators blew whistles and chanted "nothing for the private sector" as they marched from leading hospitals in Madrid to the landmark Plaza de Sol square in the centre of the Spanish capital. Police put the turnout at between 3,000 and 5,000 people. However the protest organisers gave an estimate of 70,000 people.

In Spain, Catalan stand-off risks budget backslide

April 18, 2013 10:15
By Sonya Dowsett BARCELONA (Reuters) - A stand-off between Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalonia, one of the country's wealthiest regions, risks the central government losing control of regional finances as Madrid seeks a softening of deficit targets from Brussels. Catalonia, which accounts for around a fifth of Spain's economy, has yet to present a 2013 budget to parliament and wants more control over the collection of its taxes.

Rivals smart after EU plays it safe in Google case

April 18, 2013 07:16
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - What's the best way to deal with a complex legal case that threatens to drag on for years while leaving unchecked a dominant player in an economically important market? For EU antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia, the answer in the case of Google Inc was clear. Not the long and winding road of formal charges and a potential fine for the world's most popular search engine, but the quicker route of a settlement.
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