French business confidence rose for the second straight month in January, as manufacturers said they plan to increase production. Bloomberg Business News reports the news indicates Europe may avoid a recession, which has already hit the world's two largest economies - the United States and Japan.

The European Commission says Europe's economy will grow as much as 0.4 percent in the first quarter after shrinking in the final three months of last year. France is Europe's third-biggest economy behind Germany and Britain.

Some information for this report provided by Bloomberg.

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