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The Spanish economy is falling deeper into recession and depositors are pulling their money out of the banks, figures published on Tuesday showed, while the country's most economically important region, Catalonia, said it needed a major rescue from Madrid.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Sunday the end of the economic crisis in his country was in sight and that the euro zone must not let the single currency become a source of friction between the north and south in the bloc.

Finance ministry officials in Greece have calculated that the debt-stricken country's economy will recover faster and its debt be more sustainable if it is given two more years to reduce its budget deficit, a Greek newspaper reported on Saturday.

The euro zone's two largest economies avoided shrinking between April and June, but the resilience of Germany and France wasn't enough to prevent the currency bloc's economy as a whole from falling back into contraction.

Starved of financing options, Greece will offer an unusually large amount of treasury bills next week so it can meet looming redemptions and fund its cash needs .

Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street, deflated by signs that the global economic meltdown is being felt across Asia... China reported sharply lower growth in its exports. The so-called fiscal cliff, when U.S. government spending cuts and higher taxes kick in on Jan. 1, looms larger now that the distraction of earnings season is over.

Corporate storm clouds gathered over Spain again as two major European companies joined the ranks of those saying they were taking steps to reduce exposure to the recession-hit country.

Europe's biggest economies endured another torrid month in July as businesses battled slumping demand, according to surveys on Friday that gave scant hope the region will emerge any time soon from a malaise induced by a paralyzing debt crisis.

The European meltdown is weighing heavily on the U.S. economy, with states that rely heavily on exports most at risk from the deepening crisis overseas. An analysis by Wells Fargo estimates that Utah and West Virginia economies face the biggest risk from the problems in the eurozone, while many Western states including Wyoming and Colorado are unlikely to see much impact.

German leaders have a message for their anxious neighbors: Perhaps the euro crisis isn’t so dire after all. A growing chorus of German policymakers say they have years to resolve the euro zone’s problems, even as Italy and Spain press for urgent action to bring down their borrowing costs, which are approaching new heights.