News Summary: IMF seeks urgent job steps in Spain

IMF says Spain making progress but calls for urgent action to slash unemployment

RAIN IN SPAIN: The International Monetary Fund is calling for "urgent action" to tackle Spain's stifling unemployment and the implored leaders there to get credit to businesses so that they can expand.

AUSTERITY BLUES: Spain has been in recession for most of the past four years following the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector in 2008. Concerns over its public finances, drained as the government tried to spend its way out of the financial crisis, have also piled the pressure on the government to rein in spending.

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Spain will probably start growing economically at the end of this year and into next year but the growth may not be enough to bring down the unemployment rate, said James Daniel, the IMF mission chief for Spain.