Europe may avoid recession this year, IMF says

JOHANNESBURG: Europe may avoid a recession this year and there were reasons to be more upbeat about prospects for the region, the Business Day newspaper quoted International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Christine Lagarde as saying.

"The euro-zone scene has changed massively over the last 18 months or so ... there are reasons to be a little bit more upbeat about the prospects," she told the daily in an interview conducted during a two-day visit to South Africa.

Copyright Reuters, 2012