Eurozone recession set to deepen as private sector shrinks for 15th month

[UrbScotty]

Source: The Guardian

The eurozone's private sector shrank for the 15th consecutive month in April – suggesting the single currency area will fall deeper into recession.

Germany, the powerhouse of the eurozone, also suffered a contraction in business activity during the month, which could send a worrying signal for the rest of the bloc.

An official indication of eurozone GDP is due next week and on Monday the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, stressed that the policymakers would be ready to cut rates again after taking a quarter of a percentage point off the benchmark rate to a record low of 0.5% last week.

"We stand ready to act again," Draghi said in remarks that knocked the euro lower. Wall Street, meanwhile, remained close to last week's record highs.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/may/06/eurozone-recession-private-sector-shrinks

[Kelvin Mace]

1. I really don't understand these people

Austerity has been discredited. Corporations will start to suffer soon when more and more people stop buying their crap. Why keep this BS up?

[quadrature]

3. gov't credit cards are getting maxed out

austerity is never the first choice.

Greece lost control of its own affairs
because of actions over the last 10 years.

[Kelvin Mace]

6. Greece's problem is it doesn't control

its own money supply (the Euro). The European Central Bank could simply print more money but the Germans (who control the bank) are rabidly phobic of inflation.

Greece certainly caused much of its own woe, but it was aided and abetted by greedy banks.

[xchrom]

2. Du rec. Nt

[blkmusclmachine]

4. So, it's having the desired effect.

Bad news. For the 99%.

[FrodosPet]

5. The private sector shrinking is a good thing, right?

Perhaps then all the means of production and distribution can be expropriated or replaced by worker, state or EU owned entities, which have no stockholders other than the collective population of the Eurozone, and no requirement for profitability, as shortfalls in revenues vs. expenses can be covered with state funding.