2011年10月31日星期一

Greek PM holds new bailout talks

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 05:59 GMT George Papandreou with Herman Van Rompuy in Warsaw. 29 Sept 2011 Mr Papandreou, left, and Mr Van Rompuy are meeting at an international summit in Warsaw Greek PM George Papandreou is to hold further talks with European leaders as negotiations continue in Athens on a new instalment of bailout loans.

He is holding talks with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in Warsaw before travelling on to Paris to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

International inspectors are in Athens deciding whether Greece should receive bailout funds of 8bn euros (£6.9bn).

The talks have triggered angry protests on the streets of the Greek capital.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Athens says Mr Papandreou is on a charm offensive, trying to convince his European colleagues that Greece can meet the demands imposed upon it by a tough austerity programme.

The unpopular reforms are vital to guarantee international loans aimed at stopping the debt-ridden country from going bankrupt.

President Sarkozy said that after his meeting with Mr Papandreou on Friday afternoon he would unveil a Franco-German strategy, but did not give any details.

Germany and France together represent about half of the 17-nation eurozone's economic output.

"It is very important that the Franco-German axis can make its voice heard about the concrete application of the decisions taken at the end of July [on a second rescue package for Greece]," Mr Sarkozy said during a visit to Morocco.

Targets missed

"After seeing the Greek prime minister... I will have an opportunity to say exactly what our strategy is for supporting countries like Greece," he added.

Since eurozone leaders agreed on a second rescue package for Greece, Athens has fallen behind on its debt reduction targets, raising fears of a Greek default.

A vote in Germany's parliament on Thursday to back a more powerful bailout fund for eurozone economies was welcomed in Athens.

Mr Sarkozy also congratulated German Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone on Thursday, his office said, calling the vote a key step in stabilising the eurozone.

Greek taxi drivers strike in Athens. 29 Sept 2011 Greek taxi drivers have been staging a two-day strike over government reforms

Mr Papandreou held talks with Chancellor Merkel in Berlin on Tuesday.

But our correspondent says some analysts believe the whole strategy for Greece, with a possible second bailout, needs urgent readjustment.

That is partly because contagion from Greece to other eurozone countries is no longer a threat but a dangerous reality, he adds.

Greek taxi drivers held angry protests outside parliament on Thursday on the second day of their 48-hour strike.

The drivers are opposed to government reforms that would open their closed-shop profession.

Meanwhile, a second round of talks is being held in Athens between the Greek government and inspectors from the "troika" of international creditors supporting Greece - the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Many Greeks believe that austerity measures are pushing the country's crippled economy deeper into recession and strangling any chance of growth.


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Southern Cross homes transferred

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 07:57 GMT Southern Cross sign Southern Cross is to be wound up by the end of the year A third of Southern Cross care homes have been transferred to new operators, the company has announced.

Southern Cross said the transfer of 250 homes would be followed by further transfers in October and November.

Southern Cross was the UK's biggest care home operator, with 752 homes, but ran into difficulties when it was unable to pay its rent to landlords.

In July, the firm said it was to cease trading after all of its landlords said they wanted to leave the group.

The first "wave" of homes have been transferred to about 18 different operators.

Its largest landlord, NHP, which owns 249 of the homes, will be included in the second wave.

NHP is forming a new company with turnaround specialists Court Cavendish to run the homes itself.

Winding up

Southern Cross said it had entered unconditional business purchase agreements covering 70% of its homes, with the remaining 30% still in progress.

It said all the homes would be transferred by the end of the year and the company would be wound up.

The company also announced the resignation of it chairman, Christopher Fisher, who stepped into the role in April to oversee the restructuring process.

"Now that the transfer of homes has commenced, I consider my role complete," Mr Fisher said.


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VIDEO: No guaranteed oil contract reward

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Aref Ali Nayed, Chief Operations Manager of Libya's Stabilisation Team, tells HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur that foreign support for the Libyan revolution should not be rewarded by oil contracts because support should have been motivated by humanity and not material gain.

You can watch the full interview on Wednesday 28 September at 03:30 GMT, 08:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT and 20:30 GMT. And on BBC News Channel at 0430 BST on Wednesday 28 September and 00:30 BST on Thursday 29 September.

Find out who is coming up on the programme by following us on Twitter.


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US bank hit after debit fee news

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 21:56 GMT Bank of America logo Bank of America will roll out the change from next year on a state-by-state basis Shares in Bank of America have fallen 2%, a day after it announced plans to charge debit card users $5 (£3.20) per month to pay for their purchases.

Bank of America, the largest US bank by deposits, said it would introduce the fee early in 2012.

The move comes ahead of a new rule that will limit how much lenders can bill retailers for customer debit card transactions.

The bank's debit card holders will still get free cash withdrawals.

The monthly charge will apply to users of Bank of America's basic bank accounts, and will be in addition to any service fees they already have to pay.

A number of smaller US banks, such as SunTrust, a regional lender based in Atlanta, have already introduced charges for debit card purchases.

So far only Citigroup has ruled out introducing the change.

'Changed economics'

Bank of America said the new fee would be rolled out on a state-by-state basis.

Continue reading the main story
Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad their profits by sticking it to its customers”

End Quote Richard Durbin Domocrat Senator Its move comes as an amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act goes into effect from 1 October.

The amendment, brought by Democrat Senator Richard Durbin, limits the fees that banks can charge retailers for processing debit card transactions to 21 cents.

This compares to the previous average of 44 cents, meaning a substantial fall in revenues for the banks.

A Bank of America spokeswoman said: "The economics of offering a debit card have changed."

Sen Durbin said Bank of America's move was "overt and unfair" and that he hoped its customers would "have the final say".

"Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad their profits by sticking it to its customers," he said.


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VIDEO: Steve Jobs: Apple's driving force

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 03:56 GMT Help

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VIDEO: 'Tough times' for climate finance

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 01:10 GMT Help

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2011年10月30日星期日

UK house prices 'treading water'

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 06:03 GMT Estate agency Buyers and sellers are still thin on the ground House prices continued to "tread water" in September - rising by 0.1% compared with the previous month, the Nationwide said.

This left the average price of a home 0.3% lower than a year earlier, at £166,256, the building society said.

Prices for the three months to September compared with the previous quarter were unchanged.

Market turmoil as a result of the eurozone debt crisis had hit confidence among buyers, Nationwide said.

"Sentiment towards major purchases is depressed, as a result of weak labour market conditions and ongoing pressure on household budgets from above-target inflation," said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist.

The figures are based on Nationwide's lending data at post-survey approvals stage.

'Sluggish demand'

He predicted that property prices would remain fairly stable over the rest of 2011, although the outlook for the global economy had "darkened".

Continue reading the main story
Approval figures continue to look promising as consumers take advantage of the competitive mortgage rates ”

End Quote Adrian Coles, Building Societies Association The struggle for people to find new jobs has resulted in "sluggish demand" from potential buyers.

That, together with a gradual rise in the number of properties on the market, had led to the current market conditions.

Some of these issues are most acute in the north-east of England.

Data from the Land Registry on Wednesday showed that prices in the region had fallen by 7.8% in the year to August.

In Hartlepool, prices had dropped by 15.7% over the same period, leaving the average home worth £82,561.

David Sharpe, a sales negotiator at Dowen estate agents in the port town, said that times were difficult for sellers, especially if they were unwilling to drop their asking prices.

"We are telling people to be realistic. If the price is right then it will sell," he said.

Negative equity

Many of the properties coming onto the market in Hartlepool were the result of repossessions, he said. These included repossessed properties from landlords who had overstretched themselves.

Some of the rock armour stockpiled ready for installation Hartlepool's sea defences are being rebuilt, but the housing market remains weak

This meant there were some two-bedroom homes in need of some work that were on the market for £20,000.

However, at the other end of the market, Dowen had just sold an eight-bedroom period property at auction for £345,000.

Many properties were selling if prices were lowered, Mr Sharpe said, including one "extreme case" which recently sold at auction for £30,000 when it had originally been on the market for £80,000.

Dropping prices was not necessarily an option for some sellers though.

"Those who bought at the peak of the market may well have borrowed more than the property is now worth," he said.

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