Australia woes stoke global recession fears

The first contraction in Australia's economy for eight years sent shockwaves through markets Wednesday, after the US unveiled a credit drive to stem a crisis that shows no sign of relenting.
Dashing hopes Australia could avoid the global recession, shock figures showed the economy contracted 0.5 percent in the December quarter, well below market expectations of 0.1 percent growth.
Ending a long run of expansion on the back of a China-driven resources boom, the figures came despite government attempts to kick start the economy with two stimulus packages worth more than 50 billion dollars (32.5 billion US).
Treasurer Wayne Swan said the figures were a "sobering reflection" of an extremely difficult global environment that was likely to get worse before it improves.
"Although the Australian economy has held up better than most other economies, the inevitable impact of the global recession is clearly evident in today's data," he said.