EUROPEAN ECONOMIC data gave fresh signs of the depth of the recession yesterday as US corporate bellwether General Electric posted a 44 per cent drop in quarterly profit.
Euro-zone services and manufacturing activity contracted at a slightly slower pace in January, though key surveys remained deep in recessionary territory, while Spanish unemployment surged to a nine-year high at nearly 14 percent.
British data confirmed the economy had gone into recession for the first time since 1991.
General Electric’s profit slump to $3.72 billion was in line with expectations as the world’s largest maker of jet engines and electric turbines closed out one of the toughest years in its 117-year history.
Its shares have tumbled about 60 per cent over the past year, erasing some $200 billion in market value.
Other signs of corporate pain were not hard to find. In the technology sector, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics posted its first-ever quarterly loss and German memory chip-maker Qimonda filed for insolvency.
Elsewhere, new data indicated that euro-zone services and manufacturing activity had declined at a slightly slower pace in January, a touch better than forecasts, but remained deeply negative.
Euro-zone factories also saw a modest slow down in the steep rate of decline set in the prior month, but still showed significant contraction.
The preliminary purchasing managers index rose to 34.5 from a record survey low the previous month of 33.9.
The weak data is likely to bolster expectations that the European Central Bank will reduce interest rates once again in March, its cause aided by indications of falls in inflation pressures.
