NATHAN'SNEWSPAPER
France, Germany Exit Recession, Continue Growth The GDP of both France and Germany grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2009, ending a year-long recession in both countries. However, for all sixteen countries in the eurozone, the sum of all the goods and services produced dropped by 0.1% in the quarter to June. The figures are an improvement over the previous quarter, and better than numbers predicted by most economists. "The recession has ended, and it has ended sooner than we all thought. We expect to see growth of 1% in the third quarter, which is very strong for Germany," said UniCredit's Andreas Rees. "[...] I wouldn't rule out the chance of even better growth." Stock markets rose, with the British FTSE 100 index rising 1.3%. The main French and German indices also posted gains of over one percent by noon. Hong Kong Leaves Recession, Economy Grows 3.3% According to official records, Hong Kong's economy has left a year-long recession, recording a growth of 3.3% in the second quarter ended in June. The figures, which were seasonally adjusted, were higher than forecast by economists. As a result, the government has increased its growth predictions for 2009. Previous estimates suggested the economy would contract by 5.5% to 6.5%. Now, the contraction is only predicted to be between 3.5% and 4.5%. "The GDP data was much better than we expected, partly because the exports were better and partly because of a pick-up in private consumption," Bank of East Asia's chief economist, Paul Tang, noted. "Private consumption is being driven up by stock market gains and by the property sector, which started doing well." However, government economist Helen Chan warned that "while we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, [...] the outlook remain highly uncertain because the situations in the United States and Europe are still very weak." Works Cited Editor, France and Germany leave recession, grow by 0.3%. English Wikinews.org. (14 Aug 2009). http://en.wikinews.org Retrieved 15 Aug 2009. Editor, Hong Kong's recession ends, economy grows 3.3%. English Wikinews.org (14 Aug 2009). http://en.wikinews.org Retrieved 15 Aug 2009.