Euro zone finance ministers acknowledged the shaky state of their economy on Friday after news that Italy was in recession, but they could do little more than vow to adapt to more cut-throat world competition, Reuters reported. "We're seriously concerned by the situation," Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference, carried by Reuters, after chairing talks among the 12 ministers, saying business and consumer confidence was lacking and oil prices too high. "There are major uncertainties concerning the outlook," said Greek Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis. "We will be striving to make the best of the situation." Italian Economy Minister Domenico Siniscalco blamed the euro and high production costs for his country's woes and, in a newspaper interview, appealed for greater company investment and wage restraint to pull Italy out of the doldrums, said Reuters. The euro's strength against the dollar makes life harder for exporters from the single currency area in terms of pricing on world markets. However, it has recently lost ground and slipped on Friday to near $1.26, some 10 cents below its record high. --More 2039 Local Time 1739 GMT
