Greece, Portugal Face New Credit Warning
A leading financial services company says it could further downgrade the credit standing of Greece and Portugal as the two countries struggle to control the finances of their debt-ridden governments.
Standard & Poor's said Wednesday it is keeping both nations on a credit watch with "negative implications." The credit-rating firm said it is watching to see whether European leaders later this month reshape the continent's mechanism to bail out governments with large debts.
Greece accepted a $146 billion bailout last year from other European countries, while Ireland took $113 billion in outside aid. Portugal might be next to seek international assistance, although its leaders have vowed that would not be necessary.
Countries with lower credit ratings are forced to pay substantially higher costs to borrow money to finance government operations. That makes it even more difficult to erase debt problems. Germany has Europe's strongest economy and its bonds carry the lowest interest rate, about 3 percent. By contrast, debt-burdened Greece pays 12 percent.
Some financial analysts and European government leaders think Spain might also have to seek international financial aid. Spain, Ireland and Greece are the only three of the 27 European Union nations that had shrinking economies last year.
Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the industrialized world, more than 20 percent. Its jobless rate hit a 15-year high in February. As more unemployed workers seek unemployment compensation, it further squeezes government spending for other programs.
European Leaders Agree to Closer Economic Cooperation
Leaders of the 17 European nations that use the euro have agreed “in principle” to limit public debt and coordinate their economic policies.
The so-called “pact for the euro” is to be formally adopted at a summit of all 27 European Union members later in the month .
The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said though there has been an agreement in principle, other elements of the package are still being discussed.
The agreement is designed to fulfill a German demand that the EU's weaker economies accept national debt limits in the wake of last year's bailouts for Greece and Ireland.
In spite of the bailouts, both countries are facing higher interest rates from lenders worried about getting paid back.
Just before the Brussels meeting, Portugal, which also has a weak economy, announced another round of tax increases and spending cuts in an effort to reduce its deficit and improve government finances.
Obama to Face Reporters on High US Gasoline Prices
The White House says President Barack Obama will hold a news conference Friday morning to answer questions about rising U.S. gasoline prices.
Officials say he likely will be asked about the turmoil in Libya, which has been a major cause of high oil prices.
The cost of a barrel of oil fell Thursday in London and New York, where it dropped $1.68 to $102.70 on worries that slow economic growth would cut energy demand.
Prices were up for a while Thursday on concerns that supplies might fall short after more fighting in Libya and a report that police shot at demonstrators in Saudi Arabia.
Traders are nervous that the unrest that toppled governments in Egypt and Tunisia and fighting in Libya could spread to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.
Japan quake: Fukushima plant alarming, says Naoto Kan
A nuclear plant damaged in Friday's quake remains in an alarming state, Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan says.
The casing of a reactor at Fukushima 1 plant exploded on Saturday, and another faces meltdown, but officials said only minimal radiation had been released.
The authorities ordered nationwide power outages after being forced to close all the country's nuclear plants.
The quake and a tsunami killed hundreds and left thousands missing, sparking a huge rescue operation.
The government has pumped 7 trillion yen ($86bn; £54bn) into the economy to prop up the markets - which slumped on opening.
Cooling malfunction
Japanese broadcaster NHK says the total number of confirmed deaths caused by the disaster now stands at 1,596.
Local officials have suggested many thousands more are missing across the north-east of Honshu island, but the situation remains unclear.
Japan's nuclear plants closed down automatically when the earthquake struck, and appear to have withstood the tremor.
But experts believe the massive tsunami that followed damaged cooling systems and wrecked the back-up power supply at Fukushima 1.
Technicians have been battling to control the pressure and temperature in the reactors for days, pumping in seawater and releasing vapour containing radioactive elements.
But the casing around one reactor exploded on Saturday, and senior officials conceded late on Sunday that a similar explosion was still possible at another reactor.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the area around the plant.
At least 22 people are now said to be being treated for the effects of exposure to radiation.
But the government says the amount of radioactive material released from the plant is so far still minimal.
And experts say the risk of a disaster on the scale of Chernobyl in the 1980s is highly unlikely because the reactors are built to a much higher standard and have much more rigorous safety measures.
Economic blow
Earlier, Mr Kan said the earthquake had thown Japan into "the most severe crisis since World War II".
He announced that from Monday, the country would have to endure rolling power cuts, and urged citizens to conserve energy.
The BBC's Mariko Oi in Tokyo says it is still not clear when the power outages will begin.
But she says the government has advised people not to go to work or school on Monday because the transport network cannot deal with demand.
And the capital is also still experiencing regular powerful aftershocks.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of relief workers, soldiers and police have been deployed to the disaster area.
Rescue workers have found scenes of total devastation in isolated coastal towns north-east of the main port city of Sendai, which was itself partially destroyed by the waves.
Preliminary estimates put repair costs from the earthquake and tsunami in the tens of billions of dollars, a huge blow for the Japanese economy that - while the world's third largest - has been ailing for two decades.
Japan’s Quake Could Be Most Expensive
The full extent of the economic impact of Friday's earthquake and tsunami in Japan is not yet clear, but some experts say it could be the most expensive in history.
Hundreds of factories across Japan, including carmakers Toyota and Nissan, are closed as a result of damage or power outages. Energy providers are warning of blackouts throughout the country in the coming days, because they are unable to meet the demand.
Thousands of homes have been destroyed. About two million are left without electricity and water.
A U.S.-based consulting group, AIR Worldwide, said Sunday that insured property loses from the earthquake alone could be between $15 billion and $35 billion.
Risk consultancy Equecat has estimated that the economic cost from the 8.9-magnitude earthquake will total more than $100 billion. That estimate does not include the cost of the clean-up and long-term monitoring of nuclear reactors for radiation leaks.
The Bank of Japan said Monday it will inject $86 billion into the financial system to help stabilize the country's export-led economy.
The 1995 earthquake in Kobe was one of the world's most expensive natural disasters. It killed more than 6,000 people and caused more than $132 billion worth of damage.
Wikileaks row: US spokesman Crowley quits over gaffe
US state department spokesman PJ Crowley has resigned after calling the treatment of the man accused of leaking secret cables to Wikileaks "stupid".
He said he was taking responsibility for the impact of his remarks about Bradley Manning.
Private Manning is being held in solitary confinement at a maximum security US military jail.
He has been on suicide watch at the Quantico marine base in Virginia and is shackled at all times.
He faces 34 charges relating to the leaking of 720,000 diplomatic and military documents.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she accepted Mr Crowley's resignation "with regret".
She said he had served his nation "with distinction", "motivated by a deep devotion to public policy and public diplomacy".
Mr Crowley was speaking to an audience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology about new media and foreign policy when he made the controversial remarks.
He was asked by a participant about the "the elephant in the room" - Wikileaks - and, in the questioner's words, "torturing a prisoner in a military brig".
"I spent 26 years in the air force," Mr Crowley reportedly replied.
"What is happening to Manning is ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid, and I don't know why the DoD [Department of Defense] is doing it. Nevertheless, Manning is in the right place."
He said his comments were on the record, though he later added that they were his own opinion.
In his resignation letter he said: "Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation."
His remarks were revealed in a blog by the BBC's Philippa Thomas, who attended the event.
President Barack Obama later insisted he had received assurances that the terms of Pte Manning's confinement were "appropriate".
Earlier this year, rights organisation Amnesty International expressed concern about the conditions in which Mr Manning was being held.
It said he had been held "for 23 hours a day in a sparsely furnished solitary cell and deprived of a pillow, sheets, and personal possessions since July 2010".
He was also reportedly forced to disrobe on a daily basis.
Bahrain unrest: Manama erupts in violence
Bahraini police and protesters have clashed in several areas of the capital, Manama, in some of the worst unrest for weeks.
Security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to battle protesters who had managed to blockade main roads into the financial district.
Clashes were also reported in the city's main square and university.
Mainly Shia protesters, inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, want the reform of the Sunni monarchy.
They have threatened to march on the royal palace if their demands are not met.
Roadblocks
Police killed seven protesters last month at the height of the unrest, but since then, clashes with the security forces have been rare.
But on Sunday - which is a normal working day in many countries in the region - clashes broke out in three areas of Manama.
First, protesters blocked roads into the financial district, and were tackled by police using tear gas.
"No-one was able to go to work today. Thugs and protesters were blocking the highway," one worker, Sawsan Mohammed, told the AP news agency.
Then security forces moved to try to clear protesters from Pearl Square, which has been largely occupied by demonstrators for a month.
They fired tear gas and rubber bullets, but witnesses said thousands of protesters swarmed into the square and eventually forced the police to retreat.
There were also clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators at Bahrain University.
Bahrain's royals renewed their offers of dialogue, but moments later a speaker at Pearl Square said "no dialogue, no dialogue" to cheers from the crowd.
Bahrain - home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet - is the first Gulf country to be thrown into turmoil by the wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world.
The US called for the government to have "peaceful and meaningful dialogue with the opposition rather than resorting to the use of force".
The UK government, which is warning its citizens to stay away from Bahrain, said there were fresh reports that Saudi soldiers were about to enter the country.
Shia account for about 70% of the country's 525,000 people, but the country has been ruled by a Sunni monarchy for hundreds of years.
Thousands protest against Germany's nuclear plants
Tens of thousands of people have protested in Germany against the government's plans to extend the life of its nuclear reactors.
Demonstrators in Stuttgart formed a human chain reaching 45km (27 miles) for the protest, planned before the current nuclear crisis in Japan.
Organisers said events in Japan had proved atomic power was an uncontrollable and risky technology.
Nuclear policy is a key issue in German regional elections this year.
About 60,000 people turned out for the protest, according to organisers. Police said the number was in the tens of thousands.
The demonstrators formed a human chain between Stuttgart and the Neckarwestheim nuclear plant, waving yellow flags with the slogan "Nuclear power - no thanks".
The protest took place in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg where Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives may lose power in elections two weeks from now, partly because of rising support for the Greens, analysts say.
Mrs Merkel, whose government extended the lifespan of nuclear power plants last year, sought to play down safety concerns about German plants.
"We know how safe our plants are and that we do not face a threat from such a serious earthquake or violent tidal wave," she told reporters.
"But we will learn what we can from the events in Japan, and in the coming days and weeks will follow closely what the analysis yields."
The Japanese government has been seeking to play down fears of a meltdown at the Fukushima 1 plant, which was badly damaged in Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
A powerful explosion hit the station on Saturday, destroying a building housing a reactor, but the authorities said the reactor itself was intact inside its steel container.
UK bids to host 2017 World Athletics Championships
UK Athletics is to launch a bid to bring the World Championships to London in 2017.
A letter has been sent to international governing body the IAAF, which will be followed by a formal bid in September, with a final decision due in November.
London's Olympic Stadium is likely to be the proposed venue for the event.
"The World Athletics Championships is the greatest sporting event never held here and we're committed to changing that," UKA Chairman Ed Warner said.
London was due to host the 2005 Worlds at a proposed new stadium in Picketts Lock, Edmonton, but pulled out in 2001 after the project was deemed too expensive.
The championships were switched to Helsinki, with any future British bid for the event thought to be unlikely and having very little chance of success.
At the time Lord Coe admitted: "People abroad must be looking at us with incredulity, and if I was sitting on the IAAF committee I'd genuinely wonder if we in Britain were capable of operating a whelk stall."
But the subsequently successful bid for the 2012 Olympics that was led by Coe has rebuilt relationships and provided the physical infrastructure that was missing before.
And BBC Sport's athletic commentator Mike Costello says that although a bid for the 2015 World Championships was withdrawn in 2010 because of uncertainty over the future of the Olympic Stadium, such issues have since been resolved.
"Now with the backing of the government and the Mayor of London's office, the capital is in the running for 2017," Costello said.
UKA is now working with the government and organising bodies to develop the bid and agree its budget ahead of an evaluation visit by IAAF officials in October.
"We are a leading host for major sporting events and we have the experience and expertise to deliver a World Athletics Championships that will make the IAAF proud," Warner said.
Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson said: "I want this country to host a series of world-class events as a key legacy from London 2012. For those in track and field they don't come more prestigious than the World Athletics Championships.
"There is still work to be done on the stadium legacy and the finances but I am delighted to support UK Athletics and the Mayor in the expression of interest to the IAAF."
Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport, said: "As the lead agency responsible for co-ordinating the bidding and staging of major sporting events in this country, we are determined to use 2012 as a catalyst to bring even more world class competition to towns and cities across the UK.
"A World Athletics Championships in London would undoubtedly add to this programme of inspirational sporting events and we are delighted to be supporting UKA with this letter of intent to bid for the 2017 event."
Costello added that the IAAF says there is a high level of interest from other cities for 2017 ahead of a decision to be made in November.
The Central Bank, The Belize Bank And Parallel Banking
The Central Bank of Belize and The Belize Bank are locked in a court battle which could have a significant effect on how the country's largest bank does business.
According to an article appearing in today's Guardian, The Central Bank has blown the whistle on the Belize Bank for engaging in what is known as Parallel Banking. It's a situation where the bank conducts transactions between The Belize Bank and its affiliate Bank in the Turks And Caicos.
It has come prominently to the fore in a case involving the holdings of the Luke Espat Group. According to the Guardian, that Group's collective debt is an astonishing 190 million Belize dollars - a figure which has been confirmed to 7News by others with knowledge of the case. The article claims that 150 million dollars of that debt covering performing assets such as the Port of Belize and Renaissance Tower has been stripped out of the overall debt, sold to a company called Private Investment Limited and transferred to Turks and Caicos, while non-performing assets such as Croc Land, Indeco Enterprises and others have been left to languish on the Belize Bank's books.
The Guardian reports that The Central Bank has instructed the Belize Bank to end the parallel banking practice generally and specifically to bring back, or buy back those prime Luke Espat loans but, the Guardian reports, the Belize Bank has balked at the directive.
The Belize Bank has now gone to court claiming that The Central Bank does not have the authority to order the parallel banking to stop.
But because sensitive banking details are involved, the Belize Bank has asked the court for and gotten an injunction to prevent anyone from accessing papers that have been filed in the case.
Bank President Phil Johnson told us today that he could not comment but the matter is before the courts. The substantive trial begins on March 23rd.