Greece to Meet Troika Heads

Greece to Meet Troika Heads NASDAQ ATHENS--Greece's Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras will meet the heads of a delegation of international inspectors on Sunday, as the country works on finalizing savings worth 13.5 billion euros ($16.94 billion) in time for the visit, a finance ...

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China's Wen calls for action on Europe debt

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed alarm Thursday about Europe's debt problems and called on Greece, Spain and Italy to embrace budget cuts and other reforms following a meeting with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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Merkel in control despite allies' Greek cacophony

Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the Greeks to keep the euro. Her vice chancellor says it wouldn't be so bad if they abandoned the common currency. Another ally says Greece should leave the euro club within months.

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Merkel in control despite allies' Greek cacophony

Merkel in control despite allies' Greek cacophony

Associated Press


Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 11:48 p.m., Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The chancellor still appears in control of the delicate balancing act she has performed for two years: to help struggling countries that accept tough budget cuts and reforms while convincing Germans she is defending their interests — and wallets.

Manfred Guellner, head of the Forsa polling agency, said that "people appreciate Merkel and in the end go along with her course" in hopes that the economic problems gripping much of Europe won't affect their lives.

The three-year-old coalition of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union, its Bavarian sister, the Christian Social Union, and the pro-market Free Democrats has squabbled endlessly and inconclusively over issues as diverse as tax cuts, privacy laws and highway tolls.

Raising questions over Greece's future in the euro offers hopes of political gain to some in Germany's two junior coalition parties, which both face domestic political challenges, though Guellner cautioned that "no party in Germany has ever been able to score points with the euro and the issue of Europe."

The Free Democrats won nearly 15 percent of the vote in Germany's 2009 election, but have slumped to around the 5 percent needed to win seats in Parliament — a contrast with the solid ratings of Merkel's CDU, which consistently leads polls.

Just a day after Merkel asserted, while standing next to Greece's prime minister, that she wants Greece to stay in the eurozone and that others in the coalition do as well, CSU general secretary Alexander Dobrindt was quoted as telling the mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag newspaper that "there is no way past a Greek exit from the Eurozone."

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Greece Makes Late Push on Cuts

Greece's political leaders appeared close to agreeing on a package of austerity measures, with a deal expected before inspectors from its international creditors arrive in Athens next week.

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France offers to pick up tab for young hires

The French government wants companies to hire young people so much that it's offering to pick up the tab.

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Greek leaders back austerity measures to stave off bankruptcy

Yannis Stournaras said officials from the three parties in the shaky, conservative-led coalition would hold further talks to settle remaining "technical" issues. "The basic scenario has been finalized, there are one or two minor issues that remain unresolved," Stournaras said after attending Samaras' meeting with the heads of the smaller Socialist PASOK and Democratic Left parties. The two-month-old government has...

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