Euro-Area Exports Fall, German Factories Suffer Another Blow

Bloomberg.com — Euro-area exports fell for the first time in five years at the start of 2018, dragging on economic growth, which slowed sharply in the period.

Updated first-quarter GDP data showed that government spending stagnated in the three months through March, while exports fell 0.4 percent and net trade proved a drag. The economy expanded 0.4 percent, down from 0.7 percent at the end of 2017, in line with the initial reading from the Eurostat office. […]