France’s economy slowed for the first time since early 2013 in the second quarter of 2016, hurt by a dip in consumer spending, in a blow to President Francois Hollande ahead of a presidential election. In its third estimate for the period, the national statistics agency revised lower its second quarter growth reading to -0.1 percent. Source Reuters
Slow global trade, auto industry troubles and low water on the Rhine all contributed to a final-quarter GDP of zero percent, meaning Europe’s biggest economy staved off a technical recession by the smallest of margins. Source: Deutsche Welle
“Unfortunately, anti-European forces will enjoy a competitive advantage in the balloting. There are several reasons for this, including the outdated party system that prevails in most European countries, the practical impossibility of treaty change, and the lack of legal tools for disciplining member states that violate the principles on which the European Union was founded,” he said. Source: CNBC
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denounced a top South Korean lawmaker’s comments about the Japanese emperor as “extremely inappropriate,” ratcheting up already-high tensions between the two neighbors. Source: Bloomberg
