Brazil has given up on its goal of seeking a primary budget surplus this year and instead will record a massive shortfall as a deepening economic and political crisis drags on revenues, presidential chief of staff Jaques Wagner said on Thursday. Brazil's overall budget deficit has soared to 9% of GDP, according to estimates.
Brazil will not adopt EU-style austerity measures to tackle its economic crisis and will instead cut taxes and maintain social programs, President Dilma Rousseff said on Friday.
Spain's economy shrank further in the second quarter but looks set to stabilise over the rest of the year while the government continues to push structural reforms and budget austerity, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said.