Eurozone growth weak, but steady

LONDON - A closely watched survey is showing that the 19-country eurozone economy was resilient in the face of the crisis in Greece, which saw the country on the brink of a euro exit.

Financial information company Markit says Friday that its purchasing managers' index for the eurozone - a broad index of business activity - has risen to 54.1 points in August from 53.9 the previous month. Anything above 50 means the economy is expanding. Markit estimates the economy to be growing at a quarterly rate of 0.4 percent.

The increase was largely due to a pick-up in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, and in some of the countries that have been at the forefront of the region's debt crisis over the past few years.

France, though, was a laggard once again.