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Episode details

World Service,30 Apr 2020,26 mins

Eurozone economy shrinks at record rate

World Business Report

Available for over a year

Single currency nations have seen a sharp fall in GDP for the first quarter of the year. BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker breaks down the latest European growth figures. And we take you to Italy where pressure has been building on the goverment to further loosen its lockdown as soon as possible. Camilla Cocchi owns two children's clothing shops in central Rome and discusses how the picture has changed since her products were deemed essential goods, and the shops were allowed to reopen. Enrico Colombatto, professor of economics at Turin University considers the likely hit to Italy's economy from coronavirus by the end of the year. And we get the perspective of Italy's former prime minister Paolo Gentiloni on how the coronavirus crisis affects Italy's relationship with the rest of the EU. Also in the programme, the BBC's Ramzan Karmali reports on why some of the world's animators are even busier than they were before the lockdown. Plus we find out about the Nintendo fantasy world of Animal Crossing, and Robin Wigglesworth of the Financial Times explains why the game's Bank of Nook has cut interest rates to almost zero. (Picture: A shop closed sign in France. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

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