Italy extends sluggish exit from recession

Italy's economy expanded slightly in the second quarter of the year, extending the country's sluggish emergence from recession, official data showed Friday. The national statistics office ISTAT said gross domestic product (GDP) for the April to June period was 0.2 percent higher than in the first three months of 2015, and 0.5 percent higher than in the second quarter of last year. Most analysts and the Bank of Italy had been counting on quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.3 percent.