Category: News Desk

Portugal To Make ‘Clean Break’ From EU-IMF Bailout Programme


Portugal will exit its three-year 78 billion euro bailout programme this month, announced Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on Sunday, opting not to seek a precautionary credit line from its lenders; choosing rather to rely solely on markets for its financing needs.

“It’s the right choice, at the right time,” Coelho said, after a cabinet meeting in Lisbon. “We are making this choice because the strategy of returning to the market was successful, and because we made enormous progress in budget consolidation and because we recovered our credibility.”

France Passes New Law Allowing Workers To Give Off Days To Colleagues With Sick Children


France’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a new law which would allows workers to donate their paid leave to colleagues in the event of a seriously ill child, reported Radio France Internationale.

The law had been proposed by right-wing MP Paul Sale – who was inspired by the case of Christophe Germain, an employee at the Badoit water-bottling plant.

China To Overtake US As World’s Largest Economy This Year: World Bank


The Chinese economy is on track to replace the U.S. as the world’s largest economy – measured by purchasing power parity (PPP) – by the end of this year, according to a World Bank report on Wednesday.

The latest estimate, compiled by the International Comparison Program hosted by the World Bank, found that China’s economy (based on PPP) was 87 percent the size of the United States’ in 2011, 15 percent larger than previously thought – and nearly the double the size of the last calculations from 2005.

Greece To Use Part Of Budget Surplus On Handouts To The Poor


The Greek government is set to give out nearly 524 million euros in “social dividend” to those hit hardest by the past six years of recession, reported the Financial Times on Thursday, following an unexpected a surprise 1.5 billion euro budget surplus achieved last year.

UK Largest Banks To Face “Extreme” Stress Test


U.K.’s central bank, the Bank of England, has ordered eight of the nation’s largest financial institutions to undergo an “extreme” stress test, which will test if they are strong enough to withstand a potential economic shock similar to conditions in the aftermath of World War I.

Russia, Iran In Talks To Sign $10 Billion Energy Deal


Russia and Iran held talks over the weekend regarding $10 billion worth of electricity deals, reported the New York Times, seeking to establish a closer partnership to undercut the efficacy of sanctions imposed on both nations by the U.S..

Under the proposed deal, the Russians could export up to 500 megawatts of electricity to Iran and construct new thermal and hydroelectric generating plants and a transmission network.

Bill Gates Urge China’s Richest To Donate To Poor In State Editorial


Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has written an appeal to fellow billionaires from China, urging them to do more for the poor, as wealth continues to grow in the world’s second largest economy.

In an editorial published by the state-owned People’s Daily, often seen as a government mouthpiece, Gates called on Chinese businessmen to “put their talents to work to improve the lives of poor people in China and around the world, and seek solutions for them.”

G7 Planning New Round Of Sanctions Against Russia


The U.S., Europe and their G7 partners are likely to impose new sanctions on Russia as early as today, reported the Wall Street Journal, as Russian forces continue to stationed en masse along the Ukrainian border, while a promised truce in eastern Ukraine has yet to materialise.

US Bank To Close Accounts Of Hundreds Of Porn Stars


A major U.S.-based bank has abruptly ordered the closure of hundreds of accounts belonging to porn stars, triggering fury across the adult industry.

According to CNBC.com, Chase Bank, a subsidiary of U.S. financial giant JPMorgan Chase, began sending out notices to stars in the porn industry earlier this month, informing them that their bank accounts would be shut down by May 11.

Spanish Economy Grows By Fastest Rate In Six Years


The Spanish economy grew by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014, according to the central bank on Thursday, the fastest growth since 2008 and double the rate of increase recorded in the last quarter.

“In the first quarter of 2014, the Spanish economy continued on a path of gradual recovery in the context of increasing normalisation on the financial markets and a gradual consolidation of the labour market,” the central bank said, as cited by the International Business Times.