Finland
slipped into a recession in the three months to March, the latest member of the
euro zone to succumb to the currency area's longest postwar contraction
that appears set to continue.
Finland
is regarded by economists as a member of the euro zone's stronger
"core," comprising those economies that have relatively manageable
debts and high credit ratings. But according to figures released Wednesday by
the European Union's statistics agency, Finland joined France and the
Netherlands as other core nations mired in recession, and became the ninth
euro-zone member to experience at least two straight quarters of economic
contraction. Germany and Belgium, two other members of that core group, each
grew by just 0.1% over the first quarter, while Austria's economy was flat.
