This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28671107
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Italy falls back into recession | Italy falls back into recession |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Italy's economy has fallen back into recession, latest official figures show, after contracting for two quarters in a row. | Italy's economy has fallen back into recession, latest official figures show, after contracting for two quarters in a row. |
| GDP, the value of all the country's goods and services, shrank 0.2% in the second quarter of the year. | GDP, the value of all the country's goods and services, shrank 0.2% in the second quarter of the year. |
| The surprisingly weak number follows a 0.1% contraction in the first quarter. | The surprisingly weak number follows a 0.1% contraction in the first quarter. |
| At the end of last year the country appeared to be emerging from recession, growing fractionally in the last three months. | At the end of last year the country appeared to be emerging from recession, growing fractionally in the last three months. |
| Speaking before the release of the latest figures, Hetal Mehta, European economist with Legal & General Investment Management, told the BBC: "Italy has a huge pile of government debt and they need growth to bring that debt stock down, so having such weak growth figures is a major setback." | |
| Separate figures showed industrial output increased by 0.9% from May to June, the biggest increase in five months. | Separate figures showed industrial output increased by 0.9% from May to June, the biggest increase in five months. |
| But the Bank of Italy said last month that GDP had contracted by 9% since the global financial crisis began in 2007. | |
| This latest unexpected contraction in GDP is a blow to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who came to power in February promising to reform and revive the economy. |