Eurozone emerges from recession with 0.3% GDP growth

The eurozone has come out of recession, recording GDP growth of 0.3% in the second quarter to bring a record 18-month contraction to an end.

The positive results - which beat forecasts - came following stronger growth figures from Germany and France, both of which surprised on the upside earlier this morning. The German economy grew 0.7% between April and June, while France reported unexpectedly strong growth at 0.5%, confirming it has emerged from a mild recession in the previous quarter. France's Insee statistics agency has predicted growth of just 0.2% after two previous quarters of negative growth and with record unemployment of nearly 11%. The better-than-expected growth figures may be a sign that the single curren...