UK unemployment continues to edge up
UK unemployment rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the three months to December, official figures have shown, the smallest rise in almost a year.
Women made up two-thirds of that increase and there was a new record in the number of people working part-time who want full-time jobs.
The unemployment rate edged up to 8.4%, the Office for National Statistics said, the highest for 16 years.
Two of the eurozone’s biggest economies have fallen into recession, according to the latest economic figures.
Italy and the Netherlands both saw their economies shrink by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, the second consecutive quarter of economic contraction.
Germany had its first negative quarter since 2009 with a decline of 0.2%, compared with the previous quarter.
More info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17037747
Some eurozone countries no longer want Greece in the bloc, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has said.
He accused the states of “playing with fire”, as Greece scrambled to finalise an austerity plan demanded by the EU and IMF in return for a huge bailout.
Athens vowed to clarify the plan before a conference call with eurozone bosses, which was due to start at 16:00 GMT.
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