Business Bites: Will Spain's crash course in austerity work?

The Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, has outlined a new set of austerity measures in an address to parliament after EU leaders agreed to provide 30bn euros ($37bn; £24bn) by the end of this month to help the country's troubled banks.

Measures include VAT going up almost immediately from 18% to 21%, a 3.5bn euro ($4.3bn; £2.8bn) cut in local authority budgets, a scrapping of Christmas bonuses for many workers and a slash in public payrolls in the regions.

Meanwhile, a report by Ernst and Young says Asia's economies will be protected in the future by middle class spending.

The BBC's Jamie Robertson discusses the key financial stories of the day.