`Italy is in recession’
February 16th, 2012 - 2:25 pm ICT by IANSRome, Feb 16 (IANS/AKI) It’s official, Italy, the euro zone’s third-richest economy, is in recession. The value of the country’s economy during the fourth quarter shrank by 0.7 percent from the prior three months when it contracted 0.2 percent, national statistics agency Istat said in a statement of preliminary numbers Wednesday.
Economists generally define an recession as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
Government officials and business trade groups had predicted that the economic crisis had pushed Italy into a recession, with Deputy Finance Minister Vittorio Grilli in December forecasting that economic output will shrink this year and stagnate in 2013.
Prime Minister Mario Monti - leading a group of technocrats, or non-political experts - took over the government in November when a spiralling debt crisis and scandals derailed Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative ruling coalition and threatened the very future of the euro currency.
Monti has since pushed through a series of painful reforms that include tax hikes and make Italians work longer before qualifying for a retirement pension. Finance police have also made very visible raids against tax cheats.
The measures are expected to hit the Italian wallet, meaning that the economy can get worse before growth returns.
–IANS/AKI
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- Italy's industrial production rose in November - Jan 13, 2012
- Consumer confidence rises in Italy - Mar 27, 2012
- Unemployment hits 8-year high in Italy - Mar 02, 2012
- Italy's industrial output suffers steep October decline - Dec 09, 2011
- Italian MPs are top earners in Europe - Jan 04, 2012
- Consumer sentiment rises in Italy - Nov 25, 2011
- Italian economy contracts in Q3 - Dec 22, 2011
- Italian business confidence falls - Feb 28, 2012
- One in four Italians face poverty due to recession - May 24, 2011
- Unemployment rate highest in nine years in Italy - Apr 03, 2012
- Recession-hit Italian hotels report fewer guests in 2012 - Sep 07, 2012
- 24,000 Italian government employees to lose jobs - Jul 11, 2012
- Inflation jumps in Italy - Feb 23, 2012
- High inflation smothers salaries in Italy - Apr 25, 2012
- Employment growth stagnates in Italy amid weak economy - Aug 03, 2011
Tags: business trade groups, consecutive quarters, debt crisis, Deputy Finance Minister, economic contraction, economic crisis, economic output, euro zone, grilli, istat, italians, national statistics agency, pension finance, political experts, recession, retirement pension, silvio berlusconi, stagnate, technocrats, vittorio