Stimulus move set to shake up market

AP - Spain’s Parliament has approved labor market reforms designed to shake up a listless economy and help slash a bloated deficit that has prompted European-wide worries of another Greek-style crisis.

The package had already been approved as an emergency decree in June by the lower chamber of the legislature and has been in effect since then.

Thursday’s votes in that chamber were on a series of amendments introduced last month by the Senate. Most were rejected.

One key thrust of the reforms as Spain battles a 20 percent jobless rate is to make employers less wary of hiring by making it cheaper and easier for them to lay people off.