Europe enters first recession since introduction of euro

Developed economies are among first to enter official recession due to stronger currencies affecting exports and reliance on commodities

Several more-developed economies are officially in recession as the credit crisis continues to wreak havoc on global markets. Germany reported two consecutive reductions in GDP, the technical definition of a recession, with its economy shrinking 0.5% in Q3 and 0.4% in Q2, dwarfing predictions of a 0.1% decline. On a wider remit, the eurozone entered its first recession since the euro was introduced. The member countries saw their Q3 GDP fall by 0.2%, the same decline seen between April and June. Last week, Japan also entered its first recession since 2001, shrinking 0.1% in Q3. In the...