- Greek economy ‘to worsen’ in 2010 says central bank
- Greece to Address Problems ‘On Our Own’
- Greek Impasse Deepens as Trichet Rejects Loan Subsidy
- Plan to Reshape Mortgage Market
- Madoff Victims Appeal Ruling on Method for Paying Fraud Claims
- Buffett May Buy More Alcohol Distributors After Empire Purchase
- Google Ends Self-Censorship, Defies China Government
- Google Keyword Usage May Be Restricted by EU Ruling
Greek economy ‘to worsen’ in 2010 says central bank – BBC
Greece’s economy is in a “vicious circle” and will contract more severely than the government says, according to the country’s central bank.
The Bank of Greece (BoG) said economic output in 2010 will fall by 2%, worse than the government’s prediction of between 1.2% and 1.7%.
BoG says the recession will be worse due to planned public spending cuts…..
Greece to Address Problems ‘On Our Own’ – Wall Street Journal
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said Tuesday that Greece has no need for financial assistance and insisted that the country will fix its fiscal problems on its own…..
“Let me be clear, Greece has not asked for financial aid from anyone. We are not asking someone to save us,” the finance minister said at a business conference. “But for those countries that do what they are supposed to do, there must be some sort of [European] mechanism to ensure stability.” He added that he expects a “positive outcome” from the forthcoming summit…..
Greek Impasse Deepens as Trichet Rejects Loan Subsidy – Bloomberg
Europe’s stalemate over possible aid for debt-encumbered Greece deepened as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet spoke out against offering low- interest loans for which the Greek government has pressed.
Trichet’s demand for stringent terms and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s push for sanctions against nations that breach deficit limits heightened the chance that Greece will leave a March 25-26 summit empty-handed. …..
Plan to Reshape Mortgage Market – Wall Street Journal
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won’t be allowed to return to a precrisis structure that rewarded shareholders with big profits for years but ultimately saddled taxpayers with massive losses, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will tell a congressional panel Tuesday.
The administration will outline broad principles for the future of the mortgage market at the hearing, including stronger consumer protections and explicit guarantees for any government backstop of mortgages…..
Madoff Victims Appeal Ruling on Method for Paying Fraud Claims – Bloomberg
Former customers of Bernard Madoff, who conducted the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, have appealed a judge’s decision that lets the liquidator of Madoff’s business reject years’ worth of fake profit from the fraud when calculating victims’ claims for repayment.
At least 10 notices of appeal have been filed since March 18, including one yesterday by Lawrence Elins and Malibu Trading & Investing LP……
Buffett May Buy More Alcohol Distributors After Empire Purchase – Bloomberg
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which agreed yesterday to buy the closely held parent of alcoholic-beverage wholesaler Empire Distributors, said it plans to seek more purchases in the industry.
“We expect that the Empire acquisition will provide us with a solid platform for potentially acquiring other similar high-quality wholesale distributors,” Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. Terms of the deal for Kahn Ventures Inc. of North Carolina weren’t disclosed…..
Google Ends Self-Censorship, Defies China Government – Bloomberg
Google Inc. defied China’s self- censorship rules by redirecting mainland Chinese users to an unfiltered Hong Kong Web site, threatening its ability to operate in the world’s largest Internet market.
The move escalated a two-month dispute as the government said Google broke its promise and was “totally wrong,” according to the official Xinhua news agency. Google, which had censored results on the Chinese site since its 2006 debut, said yesterday it plans to keep its research operations in the mainland……
Google Keyword Usage May Be Restricted by EU Ruling – Bloomberg
Google Inc.’s ability to post protected terms as “keywords” that link Internet searches to ads may be limited after the European Union’s top court said search engines can’t use some terms if they have been warned about possible trademark breaches.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said today in a case involving LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA that national courts must determine if Google knew of problems with the data it stores. While the ruling said Google isn’t breaching trademarks, it retreats from a non-binding opinion by an adviser last year that Google could sell keywords without restrictions…..
Tags: Berkshire Hathaway, Bernie Madoff, European Union, Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac, Google, Greece, Warren Buffett
