Ireland fell back into recession in fourth quarter (by William L. Watts)

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Ireland's economy fell back into recession in late 2011, according to government data released Thursday. Ireland's Central Statistics Office said gross domestic product in the final three months of 2011 shrank 0.2% on a quarterly basis after contracting 1.1% in the third quarter. A recession is widely defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. Strong growth in the first half of the year allowed Ireland to post annual growth of 0.7% in 2011, the first such expansion since 2007. The latest figures "are certainly not disastrous when compared to those of Greece and Portugal. But neither do they alter our view that Ireland's domestic slump is far from over," said Ben May, European economist at Capital Economics.