Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 24 May 2018

Spain PM gets budget backing in test of separatist strength

ARITZ PARRA with 176 votes supplied by ernance. It also recently
MADRID (AP) — The Span- PNV, business-friendly Ciu- forced Rajoy's government
ish parliament narrowly dadanos (Citizens) and in- to increase pensions, a pri-
passed a new national dividual lawmakers from ority issue for elderly voters
budget Wednesday, giving Asturias, Navarra and Ca- that sent thousands of peo-
the government of Prime narias provinces. The oppo- ple into the streets to pro-
Minister Mariano Rajoy sition Socialists, the anti-es- test. The demonstrations
some breathing space as it tablishment Podemos party drew the biggest crowds in
combats the continuing se- and other smaller regional the Basque city of Bilbao.
cession drive in Catalonia. parties voted against the PNV refused until Wednes-
Basque nationalist lawmak- budget. day to support central au-
ers made a last-minute It will take effect in June af- thorities as long as Madrid
U-turn on an earlier prom- ter passage by the Senate, continued managing the
ise not to support the rul- where Rajoy's party holds a day-to-day affairs of Catal-
ing Popular Party's public comfortable majority. onia. At the end of October,
spending plan as long as In exchange for supporting Rajoy removed the Cata-
Rajoy's government re- Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, centre, arrives to the main the budget, PNV secured lan government from office
chamber during the national budget debate at the Spanish par-
mained in control in Cata- liament in Madrid, Wednesday, May 23, 2018. new investments and other and assumed control of the
lonia. Associated Press benefits for the Basque re- region over attempts by
The five votes of the Basque gion of Spain, where the separatists to break away
PNV party's representatives exposed the weakness of mands for an early elec- party leads the regional from Spain. The Basque re-
in the national parliament Rajoy's minority administra- tion. governing coalition and gion shares Catalonia's de-
were needed to avert a tion, potentially resulting in The 2018 budget passed has historically tried to votion to the cause of self-
defeat that would have a confidence vote or de- in the 350-seat parliament acquire greater self-gov- determination.q

Eurozone economy's slowdown may be longer than expected

ness activity — fell in May at HIS Markit. Whatever outlook to 2.2 percent, but
to an 18-month low of 54.1 the cause, the survey sug- downside risks are mount-
points from 55.1 the previ- gests that second-quarter ing," said Moritz Degler,
ous month. growth won't beat the first an economist at Oxford
Though any reading above quarter's 0.4 percent. That Economics. The euro was
50 still points to growth, the was down on the 0.7 per- down a further 0.5 percent
drop reinforces the argu- cent seen during the pre- at $1.1723 and near 2018
ment that a first-quarter vious three quarters, which lows as the weakness in the
slowdown may not have had helped the region ex- economic data is likely to
been merely a soft patch. pand by a decade-high raise questions over when
The survey found new order rate of 2.5 percent during the European Central Bank
growth slowing and hiring 2017. Most economists had will end its bond-buying
easing, while companies thought the first-quarter stimulus program. That in
are less optimistic about slowdown was a blip, due turn will affect how soon it
the future. However, it also to some bad weather and joins its peers, notably the
indicated that businesses even an outbreak of flu in U.S. Federal Reserve, in rais-
Four people row a boat over the river Main as the sun sets over
the buildings of the skyline district in Frankfurt, Germany, Thurs- across the bloc were hin- Germany. ing its benchmark interest
day, May 17, 2018. dered by an unusually high Wednesday's survey sug- rate, currently at 0 percent.
Associated Press number of public holidays. gests the slowdown may The ECB has indicated it
"The May PMI brought yet be more protracted and could ease off stimulus fur-
By PAN PYLAS yet, if one closely-watched another set of disappoint- could be due to the euro, ther once inflation gets
Associated Press survey is anything to go by. ing survey results, though which raised the cost of eu- back to its goal of just be-
LONDON (AP) — A much- Financial information firm once again a note of cau- rozone exports. low 2 percent but so far in-
anticipated economic IHS Markit said Wednesday tion is required when in- "At this point we are still flation has remained stub-
pick-up across the 19-coun- that its purchasing manag- terpreting the findings," comfortable with our re- bornly low — in the year to
try eurozone does not ap- ers' index for the eurozone said Chris Williamson, cent downward revision April, consumer prices were
pear to be materializing — a broad gauge of busi- chief business economist of the 2018 GDP growth up a mere 1.2 percent.q