Business Bites: Will Spain's crash course in austerity work?
The Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, has outlined a new set of austerity measures in an address to parliament after EU leaders agreed to provide 30bn euros ($37bn; £24bn) by the end of this month to help the country's troubled banks.
Measures include VAT going up almost immediately from 18% to 21%, a 3.5bn euro ($4.3bn; £2.8bn) cut in local authority budgets, a scrapping of Christmas bonuses for many workers and a slash in public payrolls in the regions.
Meanwhile, a report by Ernst and Young says Asia's economies will be protected in the future by middle class spending.
The BBC's Jamie Robertson discusses the key financial stories of the day.
11 Jul 2012
- From the section Business