Spain

Spain mulls new law offering residency to foreigners who buy pricey property.

The Spanish government is suspending foreclosures for the neediest homeowners just a week after a woman there committed suicide when officials arrived at her apartment to seize it.

Europeans in Spain, Portugal and Greece protest austerity measures with a general strike today, but the real problem could be a greater lack of unity across the eurozone.

Millions of workers went on strike across Europe today in protest against public spending cuts. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, car factories and ports have been shut, and rail services disrupted.

A lack of jobs has not convinced many immigrants who came to Spain during better times to leave.

For months now, Spain has been bracing itself for a bailout. While the country waits, the government has already made many of the deep budget cuts that typically come with bailouts.

In the Northern Spanish region of Catalonia, many say they would be better to go it alone. This rich region puts more into the central government than it gets out and Catalans are starting to resent this.

New weekly claims for unemployment fell last week to the lowest level in four and a half years. Elsewhere around the world, the S&P has downgraded the soveign debt of Spain.

The disaster relief agency asks for help to assist those affected by the European debt crisis.

In Europe, the latest signals are that Spain will not take a bailout in the immediate term. China's economic growth is slowing as investment takes a back seat to consumer spending.