MADRID, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Spanish industrial production fell
by almost a fifth during December, the largest decline on
record, and data showed debt defaults soaring as the global
crisis tipped Spain into deep recession.
The 19.6 percent slump in output at Spain's credit-starved
factories and businesses dwarfed slowdowns in other major
European economies. A separate data release on Thursday from the
National Statistics Institute showed 1,082 Spanish firms filed
for bankruptcy protection between October and December, almost
four times as many as in the same period of 2007.
