Ukraine

Ukraine's economy plunged a revised 17.8 percent in the second quarter from the same period a year ago, as industrial production and construction plummeted under the weight of the global financial crisis. The contraction, the second-largest since quarterly records began in 2002, was smaller than the preliminary estimate of an 18 percent annual drop, the Kiev-based state statistics committee said in a statement on its Web site. The decline follows a decline of 20.3 percent in the first quarter. Ukraine is struggling to climb out of a recession that was sparked after demand for steel, Ukraine's biggest export, faltered and the related industries sagged. (Bloomberg)