Eurozone unemployment exceeds 18 millionSeptember 1, 2012 - 14:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - European Central Bank president Mario Draghi's decision to stay away from Jackson Hole to work on eurozone rescue plans looked increasingly justified yesterday as record unemployment underlined the urgency of the region's debt crisis, The Independent reports. Dole queues across the 17 nations using the euro stretched past 18 million for the first time as the unemployment rate hit a record 11.3 per cent in July. The jobs blow was matched by equally poor news on inflation, as the cost of living in the eurozone hit a surprise 2.6 per cent in August – well above the European Central Bank's target of just below 2 per cent. This reduces the likelihood of a rate cut next week despite the eurozone heading into recession, although investors expect Mr Draghi to unveil plans to buy up the sovereign debt of struggling southern states. German unemployment was static at 5.5 per cent – unchanged since April – but Spain rose again to hit a painful 25.1 per cent. Dole queues among Spanish under-25s also surged again to 52.9 per cent, compared with just 8 per cent in the eurozone's biggest economy. Peter Vanden Haute, economist at ING Bank, said: "The divergence between the core and the periphery remains striking... for the stability of the eurozone, this is an unsustainable development." Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |