Spain's woes to deepen as it double-dips into recession

Article written by Prieur du Plessis, editor of the Investment Postcards from Cape Town blog.This post is a guest contribution by Spyros Andreopoulos of Morgan Stanley.

(LONDON) — The 17-country eurozone has bowed to the inevitable and fallen back into recession for the first time in three years as a sprawling debt crisis took its toll on the region’s stronger economies. And with surveys pointing to increasingly depressed conditions across the eurozone at a time of high unemployment in many countries, there are fears that the recession will deepen, and make the debt crisis even more difficult to handle.

NICOSIA — Cyprus plans to lift a ban on casinos and offer firms tax exemptions on profits reinvested on the island under a package of reforms to kickstart its ailing economy, its president said on Monday. Cyprus’s eurozone partners agreed on a 10-billion euro (US$13-billion) rescue package last Monday following weeks of tense negotiations, but its tough terms look set to deepen the island’s recession, shrink the banking sector and cost thousands of jobs.

BRUSSELS — Inflation in the eurozone has fallen to a three-year low and unemployment hit a new record, cementing expectations of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank later this week. Inflation tumbled to 1.2% in April, the lowest level since February 2010 and the biggest monthly drop in more than four years, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday, reflecting an economy mired in recession.

GDP cont