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Economy

French Economy Falls Into Recession While Germany Expands By A Fraction

FRANCE 24, BLOOMBERG, REUTERS

Worldcrunch

BERLIN/PARIS – France slipped into recession while Germany’s economy expanded by a fraction, according to European economy data published on Wednesday.

Statistics showed the forecasts for Europe’s two biggest economies were weaker than expected. The German GDP increased about 0.1% from the fourth quarter while the French economy contracted by 0.2%.

According to France 24, France’s situation is the result of weak exports, investments and household spending. A harsh blow for François Hollande’s government – whose austerity policy fails to reassure both consumers and businessmen as unemployment reaches new heights.

Germany’s first-quarter growth was driven by household spending, according to statistics. The country’s recovery was delayed by an unusually long winter, which damped the business and construction confidence. However the Bundesbank is confident that the country’s economy will grow by 0.4% this year and 1.9% in 2014, reports Bloomberg.

For Italy, the euro zone’s third biggest economy, the situation is much worse says Reuters. It shrank more than expected in the first quarter – by 0.5%, extending Italy’s recession to seven straight quarters.

The weaker-than-forecast GDP results in Europe’s two biggest economies highlight the risks to the outlook and indicate that the euro zone is almost certainly still stuck in recession, said Bloomberg. The European Central Bank (ECB) cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent this month and President Mario Draghi said the bank is ready to act again if needed.

“The worse-than-anticipated start of the year will clearly worry policy makers at the ECB,” said chief economist at London’s Markit, Chris Williamson.

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Geopolitics

"No F**king Future!" FSB Verifies Leaked Audio Of Putin Pals Bashing War

What does Russia's ruling class really think of Putin? A leaked audio recording of Russian producer Iosif Prigozhin and Russian billionaire ex-senator Farhad Akhmedov criticizing Putin has been verified by Russian intel service FSB, offering a peak into the anger toward the Kremlin's war.

Photo of Music producer Iosif Prigozhin

Music producer Iosif Prigozhin attending a party after a concert by opera stars ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, at the GUM Department Store.

Roman Anin

A leaked recording in which influential Russians close to President Vladimir Putin trash the leader and his handling of the war in Ukraine has been confirmed as authentic. This rare window into the opaque world of Russian oligarchs confirms the suspicion that the country's wealthy and powerful have grave concerns about the Kremlin

In the expletive-laden conversation, successful Russian music producer Iosif Prigozhin and billionaire and former Senator Farhad Akhmedov, strong public supporters of the war, can be heard describing Russian leaders as "f**king criminals" who have "f**ked up everything."

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The recording which first appeared on social media on March 7, but it wasn't until Sunday when a high-level source in the Russian intelligence services had confirmed to independent Russian media Vazhnyye Istorii (Important Stories) that that the recording was real.

"The recording of the conversation between Prigozhin and Akhmedov is authentic. The FSB leadership held a meeting the other day and ordered their subordinates to take action,” commented a FSB source.

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