NewsTracker Answers for week of Apr 02, 2012

Q: A day after a million protesters took to Spanish streets and unions conducted a general strike, Spain's government slashed spending and enacted reforms making it easier to fire workers. Where is Spain on this map?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Spain has the highest unemployment rate in Europe - at 23 percent. Spain is in what part of Europe?

A. Scandinavia

B. Balkan Peninsula

C. Normandy

D. Iberian Peninsula

D. The Iberian Peninsula is bordered on the southeast and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north, west and southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. The Pyrenees Mountains form the northeast edge of the peninsula.

Q: Before the banking meltdown and housing collapse in 2008, Spain's government ran a balanced budget for years. But it is now suffering economic problems like its neighbor on the Iberian Peninsula . . .

A. France

B. Italy

C. Portugal

D. Greece

C. Portugal's leaders, like the governments of Greece and Italy, borrowed heavily to cover spending. While Spain's government resisted the lure of low interest rates, ordinary Spaniards did not. They got caught up in the housing bubble and took on heavy mortgage debt like many other consumers in the United States and elsewhere in Europe.

Q: The crash in housing prices plunged Spain into recession, and the government ran a budget deficit last year that was equal to 8.5 percent of Spain's economy. What European nation overspent at a greater rate?

A. Ireland

B. Britain

C. Greece

D. All of the above

D. All three nations – and the United States – had deficits last year that were equal to bigger shares of their respective economies. But, all had unemployment rates lower than Spain.

Q: Spain has the fifth-largest economy in the European Union. Which nation has the largest economy in the EU?

A. Britain

B. France

C. Germany

D. Italy

C. Germany has the largest economy in the EU, followed in order by Britain, France, Italy and Spain.