Global shares slip on weak company results, euro falls

By Angela Moon and Herbert Lash

NEW YORK | Wed Oct 24, 2012 4:49pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares fell on Wednesday as investors soured on another round of underwhelming corporate results, while the euro slipped on signs that the euro zone is heading toward a deeper recession than previously feared.
Weak earnings outlooks and revenue misses at large U.S. multinationals renewed investor unease about a slowing economy, while no mention of an improving labor market in a statement from the Federal Reserve led stocks to retreat late in the day.

The Fed repeated its vow to keep interest rates near zero until mid-2015 and its pledge to continue to support growth while the economy recovers in a statement at the end of a two-day meeting of the central bank's policy-makers.

Italy Disaster Chief Quits Over Quake Row

Luciano Maiami resigns after seven members of his committee are sentenced to jail for underestimating L'Aquila quake.

Bernardo De Bernardinis was one of seven members of the Major Risks Committee found guilty of manslaughter [AFP]

The head of Italy's top disaster body has resigned in protest after seven of the organisation's members were sentenced to six years in jail for manslaughter for underestimating the risks of a deadly 2009 earthquake. Luciano Maiami told Italy's ANSA news agency that he had quit as head of the Major Risks Committee because "there aren't the conditions to work serenely," a day after the watershed ruling that sent shockwaves through the international scientific community.

Parliament Approves Austerity Budget in Spain

Preliminary approval given despite opposition protests.

The opposition claims the budget will deepen the recession and poverty in Spain [Reuters]

The Spanish parliament has preliminary passed a new budget, which the opposition slammed as deepening the country's recession and poverty.

Greece 'wins' vital bailout extensions

There has been a series of 24 hour strikes in Greece over the past year as opposition to austerity measures[Reuters]

Greece has secured a long-sought extension to catch up with its fiscal targets, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has told the parliament. "We have obtained the extension," Stournaras said on Wednesday, shortly after telling reporters that he had finalised with EU-IMF creditors a new austerity agreement that would be submitted to the Greek coalition government for approval. Stournaras said the government would tell European counterparts that it is ready to put its latest austerity package to parliament next week after winning additional concessions from foreign lenders. The government has recently been locked in negotiations with international creditors over $17.56bn package of new austerity measures for the next two years. One of the conditions of Greece's current $185bn bailout programme is that it reforms the economy so the country can return to the bond markets to raise money by 2014. Greece has asked for a two-year extension on this deadline so that it has time to introduce austerity measures and labour market reforms. A swift deal on the package is crucial for Greece's effort to unlock more aid under its latest bailout, with the country just three weeks away from running out of cash. Smaller party allies of the coalition of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's government, the small Democratic Left party and the PASOK Socialists, have yet to back the austerity package, and will examine the concessions made before deciding their stance.

Greece to get bailout extension, says finance minister

Greek austerity measures have stirred up anger on the streets

Greece's Finance Minister, Yiannis Stournaras, says the country has been given more time to hit bailout targets.

Greece had been asking for two more years to meet the spending cuts demanded by international creditors.
Despite Mr Stournaras' comments, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said later he was unaware that an extension had been agreed.
Greece is having to meet the austerity targets in order to receive its bailout instalments.
Mr Stournaras said the measures would go before parliament next week.
"Today, we obtained the extension," he told MPs, without specifying how much extra time Athens had been granted.

EU to mull plan to bring non-euro states into bank union

By John O'Donnell

BRUSSELS | Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:02pm EDT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries will examine a plan this week to allow the ECB to supervise banks in states outside the euro zone alongside those within the currency area, according to an EU document that lays down limits on the central bank's role.
Last week, EU leaders agreed to build a new system of supervision led by the European Central Bank, as a step towards a banking union where chiefly euro zone countries would jointly back problem lenders, in a move to underpin the currency.

But the plan has sparked concerns among the 10 countries in the wider European Union that do not use the euro that they will be indirectly affected by the ECB's new supervisory powers and put at a disadvantage, whether they join the scheme or not.

Judges hear claims UK intelligence used for drone strikes

UK officials alleged to be providing intelligence for US drone strikes could be "encouraging or assisting murder", the High Court has been told.

Judges are deciding whether there should be a full judicial review into the legality of any UK co-operation with the Central Intelligence Agency.

The case was brought by a Pakistani man whose father was killed in a suspected CIA drone strike in northern Pakistan.

Government lawyers say English courts cannot rule on the case.

Lawyers for 27-year-old Noor Khan say his father Malik Daud was part of a council of elders who were holding a meeting in the tribal areas of North Waziristan when a drone missile hit the group.

The court was told that up to 50 people were killed and many others were wounded in the strike, in March last year.

Exit polls show mixed results for Spanish PM Rajoy

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party retained its majority in a key election in his home region of Galicia, exit polls showed on Sunday, while nationalist parties came out ahead in the Basque Country.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy secured backing for his austerity drive in a vote in his home region of Galicia on Sunday, but a clear win for nationalist parties in the Basque Country could soon prove a headache for the central government.
According to exit polls, Spain’s ruling centre-right People’s Party was set to retain its absolute majority and government in Galicia with 39 to 42 seats in the regional parliament compared with 18 to 20 seats for the Socialist Party and 15 to 18 seats for two nationalist parties. Opinion polls before the vote had indicated the PP would win 39 or fewer seats.
In the Basque Country, the Basque nationalist PNV (Partido Nacionalista Vasco) was set to win with 24 to 27 seats, compared with 23 to 26 seats for Bildu, a pro-independence party, 13 to 15 seats for the Socialist Party and 9 to 11 seats for the PP.

' Call Me Maybe' Explains the Euro Crisis

Hey, she's a popstar, and this is crazy, but is Carly Rae Jepsen a euro crisis genius, maybe?

Definitely.

I know, I know. The only thing more maddening than "Call Me Maybe" is the euro crisis. One is a banal string of saccharine statements, punctuated by swift choruses of action. The other is a pop song. And neither will go away.

But the lyrical stylings of Carly Rae Jepsen just might be a Rosetta Stone for the euro crisis. And you don't even have to play the record backwards to get the secret message.

What a euro crisis savant. If it's still not obvious what macroeconomic wisdom she's distilling in these sugary beats, here are the eight lines from "Call Me Maybe" that best explain the euro crisis. Why eight? Because Carly Rae Jespen works in mysterious ways.

Russia's Lower House Votes to Broaden High Treason Laws

Russia's parliament has voted to widen the definition of high treason in a move critics say is a further attempt to stifle dissent in the country.

Under the proposed new law, high treason and espionage will include supporting "those seeking to damage Russia's security".

Those illegally obtaining secret state information could face an extended prison sentence.

The bill is expected to be swiftly passed by parliament's upper house.

Clashes as Kosovo opposition protests over Serbia talks

(Reuters) - Police in Kosovo fired teargas and made dozens of arrests on Monday in clashes with opposition activists demonstrating against a new push by the European Union to improve ties between Serbia and its former southern province.

The unrest followed a meeting last week in Brussels between Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic.

It was the first meeting at such a level since majority-Albanian Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

Mixed result for ruling party in Spain's poll

People's Party was given a boost in Galicia, while nationalist parties win in the Basque Country.



Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has been given a boost for his austerity drive with an election victory in his
home region of Galicia, but victories of nationalist parties in the Basque Country can prove a headache for his centreright government.
Sunday's election in Galicia, where austerity steps were taken by the People's Party (PP) even before Rajoy took
national office one year ago, had been seen as a referendum on the Spanish government's handling of the eurozone
crisis.

Russia says fighters killed in North Caucasus

Anti-terror body says raids involving both local and federal troops destroyed 90 bases across several
republics.



Russian officials are especially concerned about security on the frontier as they for the 2014 Winter Olympics [EPA]
Russian troops have reportedly killing 49 fighters in a massive security sweep that followed angry comments
from President Vladimir Putin about raging violence in the North Caucasus.
The National Anti-Terror Committee said on Sunday the operation was conducted across several republics of the
volatile Muslim region and resulted in the removal of some of the most "odious" guerrilla commanders and their
followers.

Turkey, Syria and the Kurds: South By South-East

A GIANT Kurdish flag undulating atop a raised plateau inside Syria faces the town of Senyurt in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish south-east. At the local headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party, a grey slab engraved with Ataturk’s aphorism “Happy is he who calls himself a Turk” gathers dust under a stairwell. Across the street at the gendarmerie, another slogan—“Loyalty to the army is our honour”—glints through barbed wire.

The scene encapsulates Turkey’s Kurdish (and Syrian) impasse. The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has long called for Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, to go. Turkey now hosts over 100,000 refugees from Syria. Tensions between the two countries have almost tipped into open war. Yet there is no sign of an early end to the Syrian conflict. And the withdrawal of Syrian forces from mainly Kurdish towns along the border has raised the stakes in the Turkish state’s 28-year battle with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

David Cameron Promises to Defend British Interests in Europe

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to ensure the UK's interests are defended as eurozone countries move towards a banking union.

He told MPs there had been "limited progress", but added that this should not affect the "single market".

Mr Cameron also called for a "rigorous settlement" to ensure the EU's budget does not rise by more than inflation.

But Labour leader Ed Miliband accused him of "losing control" and alienating the UK's supporters in Europe.

Mr Cameron's statement to Parliament followed a summit of EU leaders last week.

'Attack thwarted' on Finnish PM Jyrki Katainen

Jyrki Katainen was said to be unhurt after the incident and later returned to the campaign trail

Security guards have stopped a man with a knife who apparently tried to attack the Finnish PM, officials say.

They reportedly prevented him from reaching PM Jyrki Katainen as he campaigned for local elections in the south-western city of Turku.

Spanish unions call for anti-austerity strike

Spain's trade unions have called for a general strike on November 14, to protest the conservative government's austerity measures and workplace reforms. The strike falls on the same day as similar protests planned in Portugal and Greece.

 

Exit polls show mixed results for Spanish PM Rajoy

© AFP

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party retained its majority in a key election in his home region of Galicia, exit polls showed on Sunday, while nationalist parties came out ahead in the Basque Country.

 

EU faces two tough months of bargaining to boost euro confidence

(Reuters) - European Union leaders face two months of tough bargaining on money, power and the future governance of the euro zone before they can boost confidence that the existential threat to the single currency has faded.

The European Central Bank's pledge to buy the bonds of struggling euro zone countries in unlimited amounts has changed the terms of Europe's debt crisis.

Yet French President Francois Hollande may have been a little premature in declaring a turning point last week after another night of summit negotiation yielded a deal for a euro zone banking regulator to be launched next year.

Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo Meet for First Time

The prime ministers of Serbia and its breakaway territory of Kosovo have met for the first time at talks brokered by the EU in Brussels.

Ivica Dacic met Kosovo's Hashim Thaci at talks chaired by EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.

Baroness Ashton's office said both leaders had undertaken to work together to normalise relations.

Staring into the abyss

WHEN BRITAIN ABANDONED the gold standard in 1931, it was not only forsaking a system for managing the currency but also acknowledging that it could no longer bear the mantle of empire. When America broke the dollar's peg with gold in 1971, it ushered in a decline that continued until Paul Volcker re-established confidence in the currency in the early 1980s. As Joseph Schumpeter, the great Austrian economist, once wrote: “The monetary system of a people reflects everything that the nation wants, does, suffers, is.”

In the same way, the crisis that has engulfed the European Union (EU) is about much more than the euro. As government bonds, share prices and banks swoon and global recession knocks on the door, the first fear is of financial and economic collapse. But to understand what is happening to the currency you also need to look at what is happening to Europe.

THe kiss of life, or of death?

SOME in the Irish opposition are already calling it the “Judas Kiss”. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, greeted the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, with a kiss at the start of the European summit that ended today. But then she betrayed his hope that the euro zone would lift at least some of the burden of saving Ireland’s banks from the shoulders of the Irish sovereign.

At the end of the summit, the French and European officials had claimed a points victory over the Germans by getting them to agree more firmly to a target date of January 1^st next year to entrust the European Central Bank (ECB) with the ultimate authority to supervise the euro zone’s 6,000-odd banks.

Spain cuts short Catalonia’s hopes for independence referendum

Spanish MPs vetoed an appeal by the country’s northern region of Catalonia to hold general referendums. The move squashes Catalonia’s ambition to hold a legal referendum on independence.

The Catalan ERC party proposed that Madrid allow Catalonia hold general referendums – an exclusive power of the central authorities. The motion was voted down with 276 against, 42 for and no abstentions. The ruling conservative party (PP), which holds an absolute majority in the House of Representatives, accused the Catalans of trying to sneak through a “covert constitutional amendment" endangering national sovereignty. 

France, Germany seal deal on EU farm budget freeze

By Sybille de La Hamaide

PARIS | Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:01pm EDT

PARIS (Reuters) - Germany and France endorsed a European Commission proposal for a nominal freeze in agricultural spending at 2013 levels from 2014 to 2020 as budget talks for the period enter the final stage, a joint statement said on Wednesday.
Germany is the largest contributor to the European Union's budget and France the largest beneficiary of farm subsidies under the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), which consumes about 40 percent of the bloc's total budget.

The agriculture ministers of the two countries, Ilse Aigner and Stephane Le Foll, met in Berlin on Tuesday.
"They (the ministers) support the Commission's proposal to maintain the agricultural budget to the nominal level of 2013 for the period 2014-2020," a statement said.

Officials hope to conclude negotiations on the EU's next long-term term budget, worth almost 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) over seven years, by the end of this year with EU leaders due to discuss the issue at a November 22-23 summit in Brussels.

Turkey not threatened by Syria, don;t overblow war or drag in NATO

ATO must not use protecting Turkey as a pretext to intervene in Syria, the Iraqi PM said during a Russian press conference. The statement followed an escalation of tensions between Turkey and Syria following last week’s cross-border shelling.

“The story goes that supposedly Syrian planes dropped bombs on Turkish territory, but everything has been over-exaggerated, even if it did really happen,”  Nouri al-Maliki said.

He argued that no one was threatening Turkey, and that there was no need for them to call on NATO for support.

“Turkey is being presumptuous, you could say, as if it were taking responsibility for solving the Syrian conflict instead of the Syrian people and wants to impose its own solution. For this reason the international community needs to stop Turkey from intervening," he said.

Al-Maliki is on a three-day visit to Russia, where he said that Iraq's position on Syria is similar to Russia's one as both countries are calling for peaceful resolution of the conflict. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin postponed a visit to Ankara, Turkey, because of his busy schedule this month, the Kremlin press office told RT.

Syrian plane forced to land in Turkey

Turkish fighter planes have forced a Syrian passenger plane to land at Ankara's airport for investigation, Turkish state media report.

The plane, which was travelling from Moscow, is suspected of carrying weapons to Damascus, reports say.

A Turkish foreign ministry official confirmed that a Syrian plane had been ordered to land and that authorities were inspecting the cargo.

Turkey has made clear its support for the rebels in Syria's civil conflict.

The 35-passenger plane was escorted by Turkish F4 jets to the capital's Esenboga airport for security checks, the Anatolia news agency reported.

NATO makes plans to back Turkey over Syria spillover

HACIPASA, Turkey | Tue Oct 9, 2012 2:45pm EDT

By Jonathon Burch

HACIPASA, Turkey (Reuters) - NATO said it had drawn up plans to defend Turkey if necessary should the war in Syria spill over their border again as dozens of people were killed across the Arab nation on Tuesday.
Fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces could be heard from this Turkish border town following on from several days of clashes in the past week. One Syrian villager said a rebel push on the town of Azmarin was expected soon.

In Damascus, rebel suicide bombers struck at an Air Force Intelligence compound used as an interrogation centre - the latest attack to bring the conflict close to President Bashar al-Assad's power base.

Georgia election: Rival leaders agree on Nato goal

The president of Georgia and the incoming prime minister have agreed Nato membership remains a strategic goal, despite their differences.

Mikheil Saakashvili, whose party was defeated at last week's election, shook hands with Bidzina Ivanishvili for the cameras but showed little warmth.

It is the first time the two have met since last year, when Mr Ivanishvili vowed to oust the ruling party.

Italy sacks Reggio Calabria council over 'mafia ties'

The entire council of the city of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy has been sacked to stop it from being taken over by the mafia, officials say.

The move came after some councillors were suspected of having ties to the powerful 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

IMF says global economy could get worse

The IMF said greater integration of taxation and spending policies across the eurozone was needed [AFP]
The International Monetary Fund has cut its global economic growth forecast and warned things could get much worse if the eurozone crisis continues.
The IMF's quarterly report released on Monday says world financial conditions are likely to remain "very fragile"

because of continued problems in the eurozone.

Growth forecast for 2012 has been put down to 3.3 per cent, from its July estimate of 3.5 per cent, with Asia still
leading the pack of expanding regions while European economies contract an expected 0.4 per cent.
The Fund said the global economic growth will only hit 3.6 per cent next year, lower than
the 3.9 per cent predicted in July, as even powerful emerging economies like China, India
and Brazil slow down.

Quantum computing researchers win Nobel

US and French scientists developed methods that allowed them to control fragile quantum states, winning
physics prize.




Haroche, left, and Wineland have been recognised for their work on the interaction of light and matter [AFP]
Serge Haroche of France and David Wineland of the US will share the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics, and the $1.2m
prize pot that goes with it, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced.
The two have been given the award for their work on the interaction of light and matter.
The duo, who worked separately, have paved the way for experiments in the field of quantum physics, after showing
how individual quantum particles may be observed without being destroyed - work which aims to resolve the
uncertainty principle established by Werner Heisenberg, the 1932 Nobel Physics prize winner.

Merkel pledges support for Greece on Athens visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Tuesday that the “tough path” of punishing spending cuts will pay off, while thousands took to the streets to protest her visit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Tuesday that the "tough path" of painful spending cuts will pay off, as tens of thousands of protesters massed in the capital in a show of anger against her visit to the eurozone's most indebted nation.

Russian police arrest anti-Putin protesters

At least six demonstrators arrested near the office of President Putin as he celebrated his 60th birthday.     Putin has been widely criticised for clamping down on dissent during his 12 years at Russia's helm [AFP]

Police in the Russian capital have arrested at least six protesters as they took part in demonstrations that coincided with President Vladimir Putin's 60 birthday. Sunday's protests were held as a demonstration calling for answers in the death of journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya got under way. Politkovskaya was murdered six years ago. Police hauled away several protesters outside the offices of Putin in Moscow, including a woman who was bundled away by after she criticised Putin before the media.

Merkel arrives in Greece amid tight security

Protests expected against German chancellor, seen by many Greeks as key architect behind country's austerity measures.

Angel Merkel, the German chancellor, has arrived in Greece in a bid to show support to the nation's embattled government as the public plan new demonstrations against austerity cuts.

Tuesday's visit to Athens is Merkel's first since the eurozone crisis erupted nearly three years ago.

The chancellor is considered by many Greeks to be the key architect behind the country's austerity measures.

Eurozone unlocks €500 billion war chest

The eurozone unlocked its long-awaited 500 billion euro European Stability Mechanism on Monday amid fresh concerns over the economies of Greece and Spain. The fund will be operational by the end of the month, chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said.

The eurozone unlocked on Monday its 500-billion-euro crisis war chest, the European Stability Mechanism, amid worries over Greece and as Spain agonised over whether to call for a full bailout.
The launch of the 500-billion-euro ($650 billion) ESM -- immediately given an 'AAA' rating by credit giant Fitch -- "marks an historic milestone in shaping the future of monetary union," Luxembourg Prime Minister and fund chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said.
Juncker spoke after the inaugural meeting of the ESM's board, made up of the finance ministers from the 17 countries that share the currency. The ministers then went into talks on Greece and Spain.

The euro crisis: The lingering limbo

THE EFSF is dead. Long live the ESM. Well, sort of. The euro zone’s temporary rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, is not quite dead. And the European Stability Mechanism, which formally superseded it today, has not fully come into life.

  Just a few weeks ago the euro zone was hugely relieved when the German constitutional court turned down pleas to block the ESM. Yet there was little fanfare about today’s launch of the ESM. Some of the finance ministers gathered in Luxembourg today spoke of historic milestones. But as he arrived, Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner in charge of the euro, could summon no more enthusiasm than to say: “I am less pessimistic for the moment for the euro zone than in the spring.” And far from rejoicing, European markets fell because of fears about weak growth in Asia.

Field Narrows for Next Bank of England Chief

LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne now faces a narrower field from which to pick the Bank of England's next governor, after two high-profile contenders decided not to apply.

 

Deputy Governor Paul Tucker, a long-time central banker, appears the best-placed candidate.

The former head of the British civil service, Gus O'Donnell, and Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill - best known for coining the 'BRICs' acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China - both said they were not interested in the job.

EU Financial Chief 'Less Pessimistic' Now on Euro

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The European Union's financial affairs chief is "less pessimistic" about the future of the euro than he was earlier this year — but warned that the region was still a long way to go before the crisis over too much debt is solved.

 

Olli Rehn, the EU's financial and monetary affairs commissioner, said the organization's ability to react to the financial crisis in the 17 countries that use the euro has much improved compared with two years ago when the crisis began.

Immigrants as Scapegoats

PROTESTERS in wheelchairs jeered and whistled as officials from the “troika”—the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank—arrived at the labour ministry on October 2nd to press for yet more public-expenditure cuts. Beleaguered Greeks are set to endure a sixth year of recession in 2013. Greek budget planners forecast a 3.8-4% contraction, the IMF a more pessimistic 5%.

Britain's PM Cameron threatens to veto EU budget

     

Britain's PM David Cameron sent a warning to EU leaders on Sunday when he threatened to veto any deal on the EU budget unless it guaranteed "proper control" over spending. Talks over the 2014-2020 budget will take place over the coming months.        

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday threatened to scupper European Union budget talks unless other members of the 27-nation bloc agree to “proper control” of spending, without specifying what would be an acceptable settlement for Britain.

Rajoy, Monti, Hollande to discuss euro zone on Friday

(Reuters) - The leaders of Spain, France and Italy will meet on Friday on the sidelines of a Mediterranean summit in Malta, the office of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Wednesday.
The meeting between Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and French President Francois Hollande will take place at 1600 GMT.

Two sources with knowledge of the matter said the three leaders would discuss financial issues in the euro zone, including a plan to help Spain handle its finances.

Sixth Year of Recession Forecast as Greece Meets with Creditors

Debt-burdened Greece resumes key talks Monday with its international creditors -- the EU, International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank -- as the government coalition prepares to submit a draft budget forecasting continuing recession to parliament.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras will meet Monday with officials from the so-called troika of international creditors, which will decide whether Greece’s planned budget cuts are sufficient to earn it an additional €31.5 billion ($40.5 billion) in loans under the country's bailout plan.

Eurozone Unemployment Hits Record 18.2 Million

Official jobless figures for the eurozone hit a record 18.2 million in August, new Eurostat data showed Monday, the highest since records for the bloc began in 1995 and indicating an annual rise of more than two million unemployed.

 

Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro remained at its record high rate of 11.4 percent in August, official data showed Monday, renewing concerns that efforts to slash debts have sacrificed jobs.