Spain is the latest victim of the euro zone crisis. Fitch Ratings downgraded 18 Spanish banks on Tuesday.
German exports and investments fell in the first quarter as French exports declined, too, for the second quarter in a row. Reuters

Euro zone annual inflation fell to 2.4 percent in May, down from 2.6 percent in April, the European Union's Eurostat statistics office said Thursday.

The May euro zone inflation flash estimate beat consensus estimates of 2.5 percent, according to a report by Capital Economics. The flash estimate combines historical data with partial information on price developments to create a projection for the economic union. Energy and food inflation are both expected to continue falling for the remainder of the year, and extra capacity is expected to push core inflation lower as well, according to the Capital Economics report.

We expect inflation to fall well below the ECB's price stability ceiling next year, the Capital Economics report said.

Inflation