Warren Buffett“A public opinion poll is no substitute for thought.”
Adlin Sinclair“Success is a welcomed gift for the uninhibited mind.”
A look at global economic developments (AP)
, who are reluctant to bail
out if it can’t pay its bills.
Greece’s debt problems have plunged the 16 nations that use the euro into a crisis. Greece broke rules on debt and deficits that underpin Europe’s currency union, and has investors worried that its problems could be even bigger because its public finance figures cannot be trusted.
The EU’s top economy official, Olli Rehn said he wanted the Greek government to supply answers by Friday on how it used
and how that affected debt and deficit figures.
also gave Greece a deadline of March 16 to show that it can make big spending cuts to bring its deficit down from the EU’s highest.
, the
of leading British shares ended up 1.5 percent,
rose 1.5 percent and the CAC-40 in
advanced 1.7 percent.
U.S. Treasury securities
fell by the largest amount on record in December, with
reducing its holdings by $34.2 billion.
The reductions in holdings, if they continue, could force the government to make higher interest payments as it is running record
.
reported that foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities fell by $53 billion in December, surpassing the previous record of a $44.5 billion drop in April 2009.
of U.S. Treasuries, dropping to second place behind
.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
— As world markets warily eye Greece’s financial crisis, investors are once again focusing on unresolved questions surrounding how deeply-indebted Dubai will pay its bills.
In one indication of the re-emerging concerns,
default this week shot to the level it was at the peak of the city-state’s debt crisis in November, before neighboring Abu Dhabi pumped in emergency bailout funds.
and delay repaying $26 billion in debt. Talks with creditors, which include big
and Standard Chartered, continue.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The main development bank for
says the Jan. 12 earthquake that ravaged Haiti’s capital might have caused nearly $14 billion in damage.
The preliminary study says the magnitude-7 earthquake could be the deadliest and costliest disaster on a list that dates back four decades.
chief signaled differences with the U.S. over how to overhaul
, saying he wants binding rules on pay and rejecting
’s plans to limit banks’ size and risky trading as wrong for Europe.
ATHENS, Greece — Greek customs officials and
designed to pull the country out of a debt crisis that has shaken the entire eurozone.
TORONTO — Canada is tightening mortgage lending rules as historic low rates are raising fears of a potential housing bubble.
said there is no compelling evidence of a bubble but says the government is taking proactive measures to prevent one.
FRANKFURT — German investor confidence slipped for the fifth month in a row in February amid dim prospects for the nation’s retail, consumer goods, steel and chemical sectors.
The confidence index of the ZEW Institute showed investors’ outlook for the next six months dropped to 45.1 points from 47.2 points in January. The survey is viewed by many as an accurate barometer for the economic outlook in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.
LONDON — Britain’s consumer price inflation rate rose to 3.5 percent in January from 2.9 percent in December, due to a hike in the national sales tax and more expensive energy, the
said.
ended modestly higher though trading levels were extremely low because of holidays in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.2 percent, South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s benchmark each climbed 0.5 percent, Indonesia’s market added 0.8 percent and New Zealand’s stock index advanced 0.9 percent.