development
Greece begins sell-off to counter debt crisis
Greece’s ruling socialist party has passed a second austerity bill needed to implement an austerity package to secure more funds from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
The vote saw 155 members of parliament voting in favour of the bill, 136 voting against and five abstentions.
The Greek government will now start to implement harsh cuts, but it also has plans to make money – many of which are proving to be controversial.
Athens wants to raise $72bn in the next four years by selling off state assets.
The state lottery, water companies, electricity and gas monopolies are among those up for grabs. Also for sale are leases on state property and property for tourist development.
Tania Page reports from Athens, the Greek capital.
Duration : 0:2:16
Greek Lawmakers Pass Spending Cuts Required for Loans
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish
Greece’s debt crisis has shaken investors in the United States and worldwide. They worry that it could spread far beyond Greece. On May sixth, a day after huge protests in Athens, the Greek parliament approved a series of spending cuts. Greece has to cut thirty billion dollars as part of a bailout deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The deal is for one hundred forty-five billion dollars in loans.The cuts include wage freezes and reductions in retirement pay for government workers. Critics say the austerity plan will hurt the poor especially. But Greek labor costs are high even for Europe. And Greece’s public debt is equal to at least one hundred fifteen percent of its economy. The cuts may be the only hope to avoid declaring bankruptcy.Sebastien Galy is senior currency strategist for the French bank BNP Paribas. He says other European countries delayed rescuing Greece because it was politically unpopular. Now they are paying for it.European countries promised to make eighty billion euros in loans available over the next three years. The International Monetary Fund promised thirty billion. The quality of Greek government debt is now rated at “junk” levels. The high risk has investors demanding higher interest rates, and not only on Greek debt. Portugal and Spain have also had their credit ratings reduced. Both borrowed from credit markets. And both had to pay far higher rates than Germany, the safest investment in the euro area.The euro is eleven years old and used as the currency of sixteen countries. But less trust in the euro has reduced its value to the lowest levels in over a year. Sebastien Galy says growth expectations for the euro area have dropped. This has affected producers of raw materials such as Australia, Brazil and Canada. But he says the falling euro should help ease the crisis. He expects the exchange rate against the dollar to reach one-to-one within a year. That would be good news for European countries with heavy debt loads. He said: “The lower the euro is, the more competitive these economies become and, therefore, the more the fiscal concerns are going to be reduced.”While the euro has fallen, the dollar has gained value. Investors fleeing risk have bought dollars and American debt.And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report.
(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 07May 2010)
Duration : 0:3:59
Damned by Debt Relief
Damned by debt Relief challenges the Live8-G8 debt relief jamboree. Eloquent and angry Ghanaians cut through the spin and explain; debt relief provided no new money and draconian conditions applied. Damned by donor diktat, Ghanaians are not impressed by the West’s supposed largesse. For the full story — a 28-minute documentary now available on DVD — please visit our website at www.worldwrite.org.uk/damned/dvd.htm
Duration : 0:3:56
With Loan Guarantees, Obama Looks to Nuclear Energy for Jobs
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com
One year ago, President Obama signed the economic recovery bill aimed at pulling the country out of recession. The bill promised jobs — including many in the nuclear energy industry.
In February, the president announced plans for the government to guarantee more than eight billion dollars in loans for two new nuclear energy centers in the state of Georgia. The Southern Company plans to build the nuclear power centers. The first would start operations in twenty sixteen.
Mister Obama announced the plan at a job training center in Lanham, Maryland. The message was that nuclear energy projects will create jobs. President Obama said: It is a plant that will create thousands of construction jobs in the next few years, and some eight hundred permanent jobs — well paying permanent jobs — in the years to come.
In February, the Federal Reserve predicted that unemployment will remain near current levels through the year. The present rate is nine point seven percent. The central bank said unemployment could remain high for the next two years.
President Obama has received sharp criticism from Republicans over the lack of progress in job creation.
The seven hundred eighty-seven billion dollar American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is also unpopular because of its cost. Critics said the money is being spent too slowly with less than sixty percent being spent so far. But the administration said the measure has saved or created two million jobs.
By supporting nuclear energy, the president may be seeking common ground with Republicans who have called for building as many as one hundred new nuclear power centers.
Mister Obama has linked clean energy with economic growth. He also warned that the United States is falling behind in developing nuclear energy. He said: There are fifty-six nuclear reactors under construction in the world: twenty-one in China alone; six in South Korea and five in India.
The United States has not built a new nuclear power plant in nearly thirty years. American public opinion about nuclear energy has been mixed. In recent years, public opinion studies show more than half of Americans approve of nuclear energy. About one-fifth of the nations electricity is generated by nuclear power.
And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report.
(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 19Feb2010)
Duration : 0:3:54
Lee’s Summit Council Loans $9M To Developer
The Lee’s Summit City Council on Thursday approved a $9 million loan to RED Development to finish the Summit Fair shopping center, located near Highway 350 and Chipman Road.
http://www.kmbc.com/news/19467528/detail.html
Duration : 0:2:27
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Duration : 0:5:4
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