Spanish PM talks of 'crisis' as recession fears grow

AFP, July, 2008

MADRID (AFP) — Fears mounted on Wednesday for the Spanish economy, until recently a driver of growth and job creation in the eurozone, after Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero referred to a "crisis" for the first time.

German investment bank Commerzbank said in a research note that "all the signs now point to Spain being on the brink of a recession, if not already in one" as the collapse of a decade-long housing boom drags the rest of economy down with it.

It cut its economic growth forecast for Spain for this year to 1.3 percent from 1.5 percent and saw zero percent growth in 2009 instead of an expansion of 0.6 percent. The economy expanded 3.8 percent last year

BBVA, Spain's second-biggest bank, said in a recent study that figures released in...