A generation sacrificed

Crushed by an austerity squeeze and towering unemployment, millions of Europeans joined the ranks of the newly poor this year in a crisis that showed no mercy for the old, women or children.

An arc of misery spread pitilessly across southern Europe’s middle classes, engulfing bailed-out nations Greece and Portugal and rocking heavyweights such as the euro zone’s number four and three economies, respectively, Spain and Italy.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1102448/generation-sacrificed