IHT Quick Read: April 27 NEWS After years of insisting that the primary cure for Europe's malaise is to slash spending, the champions of austerity, most notably Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, find themselves under intensified pressure to back off unpopular remedies and find some way to restore faltering growth to the world's largest economic bloc. As President Obama wrestles with how to respond to new assessments that Syria appears to have used chemical weapons, leaders in Israel say they will be watching for clues about how he might handle the Iranian nuclear issue in the future. David Sanger and Jodi Rudoren report from Jerusalem. Randal C. Archibold reports from Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico. Smaller companies that provide most of the jobs in Europe face an ever more difficult struggle to win customers and get bank loans, according to a survey from the European Central Bank on Friday that contributed to a picture of spreading economic stagnation in the euro zone. Small and midsize companies in South European countries like Spain and Italy reported the most trouble making a profit, maintaining revenue and getting loans, according to the E.C.B. survey of 7,500 firms. Underscoring the plight of people in Southern Europe, the Spanish government said Friday that economic growth in coming years could be even worse than previously thought. But the survey also pointed to signs of trouble in Northern Europe, further raising expectations that the E.C.B. might be all but compelled to cut its main interest rate in the coming week. Jack Ewing reports from Frankfurt, Germany. After opening hundreds of stores in China in recent years, some watch companies are facing an inventory glut and cutting back their retailing presence there. The downsizing comes as shipments of timepieces to China from Switzerland, the world's dominant luxury watch production center, have fallen below the levels of two years ago, after setting a record in 2012. Swiss watch exports to mainland China dropped 26 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, to 323 million Swiss francs, or $343 million, according to data released in the past week by the Swiss Federation of the Watch Industry. Exports to Hong Kong fell 9 percent, to 910 million francs. Raphael Minder reports from Basel, Switzerland. ARTS The performance artist Marina Abramovic is collaborating on a new work, "Boléro," which will have its premiere on Thursday at the Palais Garnier on a program that includes Maurice Béjart's "Firebird" and versions of "Afternoon of a Faun" by Nijinsky and Jerome Robbins. It might seem strange for Ms. Abramovic, 66, the groundbreaking artist who almost single-handedly brought performance art to the general public's attention, to be working on a dance. But on her second day of rehearsals in Paris, she was embracing the role with her characteristic enthusiasm. Roslyn Sulcas reports from Paris. SPORTS The juggernaut meets the road warriors as rugby's Heineken European Cup reaches its semifinal stage this weekend. No team has ever made the final four more impressively than the French club Clermont Auvergne, which won all six pool matches - including home and away defeats of the reigning champion, Leinster - then smashed compatriot Montpellier, 36-14, in the quarterfinals. It also has a qualified version of home advantage Saturday, when it plays Munster on French soil at Montpellier.