The Telegraph reports Italy Tumbles Into Recession as Eurozone Suffers Slowest Growth Since the Debt Crisis.

Italy has fallen into its third recession in a decade as slumping domestic demand caused the economy to shrink.

GDP fell by 0.2pc in the final three months of 2018, following a 0.1pc decline in the third quarter of the year. That met the usual definition of a recession - two consecutive quarters of contraction. [Mish note: I see only two instance of back-to-back declines but there are better definitions.]

The eurozone as a whole expanded by 0.2pc, the same pace as in the previous quarter. Compared with the final quarter of 2017, eurozone GDP rose by 1.2pc, its weakest 12-month performance since the 2012-13 recession that accompanied the sovereign debt crisis.

"We expect the European Central Bank to revise down its GDP forecasts, of 1.7pc growth this year and next, in March and to make clear that it does not expect to raise interest rates until next year at the earliest." German officials have already cut their own forecasts of national growth from 1.8pc for 2019 to just 1pc.