We look back on a few of the big economic stories of twenty eleven.
The
debt crisis in Europe spread from it's started in greece and Ireland last
year.
Portugal needed a financial rescue of over one hundred billion dollars
in this spring. And Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lost support
because of his country's debt troubles. Former EU official Mario Monti took over
as prime minister in November.
Greek debt continued to hurt European banks.
Pressure on Europe's financial system from debt problems in countries using the
euro have placed the future of the euro itself in debt. As a result, European
finance officials have called for tighter financial cooperation and new
rules.
But European leaders have yet to agree on enlarging the rescue fund
meant for debt-troubled euro-area economies.
World Bank President Robert
Zoellick, who once worked in a
company, say Europe will have to find answers to its debt problems.
But
Mister Zoellick also said it was important for other big economies to deal with
their own budget imbalances.
In August, the United States had its credit
rating cut from the highest level, triple A, to double A plus. The move was
widely blamed on the failure of American lawmakers to agree on details of budget
cuts to reduce deficits.
In business news, the largest publicly traded
technology company, Apple, lost its chief.
Steve Jobs brought the world the
iPhone, iPod and iPad. He stepped down in August because of health problems. He
helped make Apple into one of the world's most valuable companies. Steve Jobs
died in October at the age of fifty-six.
Protests for political freedom swept
North Africa and the Middle East in the Arab Spring. But protests over budget
cuts and jobs were heard around the world.
In the United States, activists in
hundreds of cities protested economic inequality and joblessness. Protestors
were angry that banks got rescued with taxpayers' money during the financial
crisis nearly four years ago. But many Americans continue to face
hardship.
