Many commercial banks have done well (particularly in Spain, Canada and Australia) and JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Barclays have expanded their investment banks (see article).
Much of the weakness, particularly in Spain, is down to struggling firms in property and finance, which suggests that the credit crunch and the deflating house-price bubble are taking a broader toll.
Part-time work, much of it done by women, is also spreading particularly fast in Spain, Italy, Belgium and Portugal.
The problem is particularly acute in Spain and Italy, where labour laws make it expensive to lay off older workers but not young temps.
This is particularly controversial in Spain, because many of the holders of this type of debt are unsophisticated retail customers: horror stories are emerging of illiterate customers signing up for risk-bearing debt with their thumbprints.
It shrugged off slower sales in Europe, and particularly in its home country of Spain, by expanding into markets in Asia and boosting its online sales presence.
It is true that the Basques have very wide autonomy: more than any other region in Spain, particularly in tax matters.
Some analysts warn that the rally in the euro could reverse fast if politics in Europe, particularly Spain or Italy, unnerve the bond markets further.
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Two of every 100 pesos spent buying groceries from Argentine supermarkets on the internet are now paid for by Argentines abroad, particularly in the United States and Spain, reports Argentine newspaper El Clarin.
Some countries, particularly Spain, have succeeded in raising the number of organ donors, but there is still much room for improvement, according to Leo Roels, managing director of the Donor Action Foundation.
Second, a movement from the highly subsidized locations in Europe (particularly Germany and Spain) to very sunny areas such as the Southwestern US, Western China, and the high desert of Chile and Peru.
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And at least some thought has been given to how it could be deployed, at a pinch, particularly to shore up banks in countries like Spain.
The first departure of a country from the currency union could trigger new financial turmoil across Europe, particularly in larger nations under market pressure such as Spain and Italy.
In Europe, Spain and Ireland look particularly exposed to higher rates.
Truly decentralized states, particularly the Netherlands (which broke away from Spain in the late 16th century) and Britain, fostered liberties that, in turn, fostered innovation and economic growth.
In part because of the potential for some financial market disappointment (particularly amid signs that neither Italy nor even Spain may be ready to request the activation of such measures in the weeks immediately ahead), the Governing Council will likely consider a rate cut as well, in the context of the publication of the staff quarterly macro projection.
For other economies in Europe, particularly those on the struggling fringes such as Spain and Greece, euro strength threatens to negate their efforts to make their economies more competitive.
"The U.K. is a very attractive market and one where we're particularly focused, and we're excited about near-term prospects in Spain, " says John Zillmer, president of Aramark's food and support services group.
Encouragingly, some of the bigger European states, particularly France, more tentatively Spain and Italy, and most recently Germany, have started to follow Britain in training more professional, rapidly deployable soldiers, available for real soldiering, not just barracks duty.
The European banks and their good buddies in their governments are hoping to keep alive the game of make believe, particularly the part where Portugal, Spain and Italian government bonds owned by the banks are not worthless.
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