How the world sees Greece
Drugmakers offer to cap Greece's medicines bill Reuters LONDON (Reuters) - International drug companies have offered to cap the total amount the Greek government has to pay for its medicines in a bid to resolve a crisis that is jeopardizing both the supply of drugs to patients and drugmakers' profits. The ... |
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 The West Australian | Pharmas offer to cap cost of Greek medicine Financial Times Leading pharmaceutical companies have offered to cap the total costs of medicines supplied to the Greek government, as they struggle to overcome escalating bad debts and policies they fear will undermine future profits. The European Federation of ... Drugmakers offer to cap Greece's medicines bill |
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 New Zealand Listener | “We have not yet grasped the extent to which Greece has a bad name” New Zealand Listener John Key is not alone in invoking the word “Greece” to attack his political opponents. The land that invented democracy has achieved a wider bogeyman status in political rhetoric, with Mitt Romney, the next president of the United States (you never ... |
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 Wall Street Journal | Greece's Siren Call Wall Street Journal The immediate risk is that Greece fails to approve the new austerity measures. Last week, a privatization package was approved by only a slim margin, with some members of PASOK, the second-biggest coalition party, rebelling against the government. Greece braced for crucial votes Crucial votes will end talk of Greece exiting euro: PM 'Devil's week' ahead for Greece |
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Crucial votes will end talk of Greece exiting euro — PM BDlive ATHENS — Talk of Greece exiting the euro will end after critical votes in parliament this week on new austerity measures, labour reforms and the 2013 budget, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Sunday. The three-party government will submit ... |
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With inflation outstripping wages and a raft of benefit cuts to due in 2013, household incomes are likely to shrink, analysts warn
The Bank of England will resist calls this week to pump extra funds into the economy despite concerns that a recent decline in manufacturing production and the weak construction sector could force the UK into a triple dip-recession. Policymakers at the central bank will debate how to generate growth after more than three years of falling living standards.
With inflation consistently outstripping wages and a raft of cuts to benefits due in 2013, household incomes are likely to worsen, according to economists.
The bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) is likely to keep its powder dry after the economy briefly sprang back to life in the third quarter when gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1%.
A fall in unemployment in autumn and a modest rise in consumer spending have also offset worse-than-forecast manufacturing output, which has shrunk as the government's austerity policies and the euro crisis hit demand for UK goods.
While some MPC members could vote to boost quantitative easing (QE) by £50bn to £425bn, most economists expect a committee majority to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5% and QE at £375bn.
Both the BoE Governor and deputy governor, Sir Mervyn King and Paul Tucker, have suggested in recent speeches that the impact of QE is reaching its limit.
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "While it still looks to be a close call, we believe the 1% quarter-on-quarter spike in GDP in the third quarter makes it more likely than not that the Bank of England will hold off from more QE."
Members of the MPC have come under intense pressure to cut the cost of lending and boost credit in the economy as the Treasury maintains its determination to limit government to pay down debts.
The MPC has waited to complete its last £50bn of government bond purchases and a new direct-funding scheme for banks (funding for lending), before pushing ahead with another £50bn of QE.
Economic analysts, the CEBR, said the economy will remain weak in 2013 and 2014, though it will outstrip the eurozone as it copes with the double whammy of sharply declining incomes and rising debts in several key countries. The CEBR said the UK would grow by 0.8% next year and 1.4% in 2014 against a eurozone average of -0.4% in 2013 and 0.4% in 2014.
"Even assuming the problems of the euro do not cause an economic meltdown before the German elections next year, we are looking at a very weak economic outlook in Europe for the next two years" said Tim Ohlenburg, senior economist at CEBR and main author of the report.
However, the UK could fall back into an unprecedented third recession in four years if the 1% rise in the third quarter proves to be an Olympics-induced blip.
The latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK business confidence monitor found smaller UK firms had scaled back plans for expansion in 2013.
The report noted that a mood of caution suggests while some sectors and regions start to improve, "economic recovery will be restrained in the next 12 months".
Michael Izza, chief executive of the accountancy body, the ICAEW, said: "While the UK economy has come out of recession, business confidence is still very fragile. Against a backdrop of a softening global economy, the recovery is yet to take hold. More needs to be done to secure the UK's long-term economic outlook by encouraging businesses to invest and to stimulate growth."
A survey of small businesses found that almost half were reluctant to invest in new jobs while confidence in the economy's ability to recover remained weak. The eurozone will slow the UK's recovery next year as the 17-member currency zone deals with a huge overhang of debts in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.
Greece is due to vote on €13.5bn of spending cuts and tax rises on Wednesday ahead of a budget vote next Sunday.
Prime minister Antonis Samaras is confident he can win the vote to secure more than €37bn (£30bn) of loans from the EU and International Monetary Fund.
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PAOK beats Panionios 2-1 in Greek league San Francisco Chronicle ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Klaus Athanassiadis scored twice in the first half to lead PAOK to a 2-1 away win at Panionios in the Greek league Sunday. Christos Aravidis pulled one back for Panionios in the 56th, but PAOK held on despite being a man down ... |
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