1Q 2013 Eurozone recession's 6th quarter and includes France, 'Eurozone core now as rotten as periphery,' could turn into another banking crisis

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5/15/13, "Eurozone recession continues into sixth quarter," BBC

"The recession across the 17-nation eurozone has continued into a sixth quarter, figures show.

The bloc's economy shrank by 0.2% between January and March, according to official figures.
That left the region's economy 1% smaller for the period compared with a year ago.

Individual data for member countries showed nine were in recession, although Germany recorded weak growth of 0.1% in the period.

The figure marks the longest recession since the euro was launched in 1999.

It was worse than the 0.1% fall expected by economists, although gross domestic product (GDP) numbers, like other economic statistics, are subject to revisions.

The weak state of so many economies in the eurozone has led to rising unemployment....

In France, which figures show fell into recession for the second time in four years, unemployment is 10.6%."...

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5/15/13, "'Rotten to the core': EU in crisis as SEVENTEEN countries plunge deeper into recession," express.co.uk, C. Meredith

"Hector McNeil, CEO of the Exchange Traded Products provider, Boost ETP, commented that the gloomy statistics show that the "eurozone's core is now as rotten as the periphery."

"Even German growth has slipped to negligible levels and France's economy is wilting faster than President Hollande's re-election prospects," Mr McNeil said.

"Formerly resilient export-driven economies like the Netherlands have been hit hard by falling demand from China and stagnant consumption at home.

Consistently negative PMI numbers suggest that more pain lies ahead, the financial expert said, adding that with eurozone growth sinking and unemployment at a record high, "the clamour for an end to austerity is turning into a cacophony."

"Rates of default among borrowers in several eurozone countries are increasing, exposing banks to a growing risk of contagion. What began as a banking crisis and morphed into an economic crisis could easily turn back into a banking crisis," he said."


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