Europe

Italy’s shops used to be closed for a good amount of time in a day to comply with regulations governing operating hours. This frustrating rule for consumers, however, may be abolished paving the way for a 24x7 shopping experience.
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The EBRD revised its growth forecast for emerging Europe, citing the ongoing debt crisis in the Euro-zone.However, the development bank singled out Russia as less likely to be affected by the crisis compared to its former satellite states.
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Europe’s debt crisis lingered during the fourth quarter of 2011, although the European Central Bank and Euro-zone leaders took several steps to find a lasting solution to the problem.
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Sweden ^New
Sweden's export-dependent economy was badly shaken by the financial crisis. However, the largest economy in the Scandinavian region staged a comeback in 2010, helped by strong public spending and a pick-up in external demand.
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Ireland ^New
Ireland is slowly picking up the pieces after the €85-billion bailout from the IMF and the European Union last year. The country hopes to turn a new page under the stewardship of its newly elected prime minister.
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Poland ^Updated
After posting a modest growth even during the global financial crisis, Poland seems to be on the right track to achieve greater heights. A stable administration and its strong trading partner Germany are the drivers of its economic progress.
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Turkey ^Updated
The re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as prime minister bodes well for Turkey. However, an overheating economy and the lack of absolute majority in Parliament are the fresh challenges he has to address in his third term in office.
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Germany ^Updated
On the back of a quicker-than-expected revival in world trade and inventory restocking across the globe, Germany managed to emerge from recession in the second quarter of 2009 after experiencing four quarters of contraction. Since then, Germany has recovered commendably, clocking 3.6% GDP growth in 2010 — the best since its reunification.
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Italy ^Updated
The Euro-zone’s third largest economy emerged from its worst recession in over six decades in the third quarter of 2009. Italy experienced five consecutive quarters of contraction, witnessing a massive 4.8% decline for the year 2009 as a whole.
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France ^Updated
One of the first countries in the Euro-zone to exit the recession, the French economy bounced back to growth in the second quarter of 2009. A recovery in exports as well as strong domestic consumption powered this resurgence after four consecutive quarters of contraction.
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United Kingdom ^Updated
After remaining in the firm grip of recession for six consecutive quarters, the worst in the last 70 years, the U.K finally reverted to growth in the last quarter of 2009 at a higher than expected quarterly growth rate of 0.4%.
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Spain ^Updated
Contracting by about 3.6% in 2009, the Spanish economy has been one of the hardest hit by the global financial crisis. While it narrowly managed to scrape out of the recession in the first quarter of 2010, recording a marginal growth of 0.1%, the economy is expected to remain on a weak footing for quite some time.
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Russia ^Updated
Though Russia’s GDP growth rate trails the other BRIC economies, the second half of 2010 brought some cheer. The Russian government, realizing the need to improve investor perceptions about doing business in the country, announced a $32-billion privatization of state-run assets beginning in 2011.
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