Euro zone shopping plunges at Christmas as growth slows

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Consumers in the euro zone tightened their belts in December despite the Christmas shopping season, official estimates on retail trade showed on Wednesday, contributing to the bloc's paltry growth at the end of last year.Eurostat said retail trade volume in the 19-country currency bloc dropped 1.6% in December from the previous month, the worst fall in more than two years, and far below the average 0.9% decrease forecast by economists polled by Reuters.The unexpectedly large..