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User:RosannaDelrio108

2012-12-10T22:33:56Z

90.209.180.114: Created page with "The Greek PM has warned the nation of a collapse in living standards if MPs fail to pass an unpopular austerity bill demanded in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn; �110bn) bailou..."

The Greek PM has warned the nation of a collapse in living standards if MPs fail to pass an unpopular austerity bill demanded in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn; �110bn) bailout.

In a TV address, Lucas Papademos said Greece was "just a breath away from Ground Zero".

The cabinet has approved the measures but five government ministers resigned.

Unions are holding a 48-hour strike, and thousands of protesters rallied in central Athens against the measures.

Riot police were on standby after clashes on Friday, but the demonstrations were mostly peaceful.

The austerity measures are being demanded by the eurozone and IMF - they must now be passed by the Greek parliament and approved by European finance ministers.

Some MPs from the governing parties are expected to vote against the bill, the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens reports.

But analysts say the package should still have enough support in parliament, because Pasok, the largest party, and its coalition ally New Democracy account for more than 230 deputies out of a total of 300.
Catastrophe fear

Mr Papademos said the measures would "decide the country's future" and enable it to stay inside the euro.
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What went wrong in Greece?

An old drachma note and a euro note
Greece's economic reforms, which led to it abandoning the drachma as its currency in favour of the euro in 2002, made it easier for the country to borrow money.

The opening ceremony at the Athens Olympics
Greece went on a big, debt-funded spending spree, including paying for high-profile projects such as the 2004 Athens Olympics, which went well over its budget.

A defunct restaurant for sale in central Athens
The country was hit by the downturn, which meant it had to spend more on benefits and received less in taxes. There were also doubts about the accuracy of its economic statistics.

A man with a bag of coins walks past the headquarters of the Bank of Greece
Greece's economic problems meant lenders started charging higher interest rates to lend it money. Widespread tax evasion also hit the government's coffers.

Workers in a rally led by the PAME union in Athens on 22 April 2010
There have been demonstrations against the government's austerity measures to deal with its debt, such as cuts to public sector pay and pensions, reduced benefits and increased taxes.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou at an EU summit in Brussels on 26 March 2010
The EU, IMF and European Central Bank agreed 229bn euros ($300bn; �190bn) of rescue loans for Greece. Prime Minister George Papandreou quit in November 2011 after trying to call a referendum.

Greece's problems have made investors nervous, which has made it more expensive for other European countries such as Portugal to borrow money.
Eurozone leaders are worried that if Greece were to default, and even leave the euro, it would cause a major financial crisis that could spread to much bigger economies such as Italy and Spain.

Lucas Papademos
Under Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, Greece is trying to negotiate a big write-off of private debts and secure a second bail-out of 130bn euros ($170bn, �80bn) before a 20 March deadline.

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"The social cost of this programme is limited in comparison with the economic and social catastrophe that would follow if we didn't adopt it," he said.

Savings would be lost, the government would be unable to pay wages or salaries, and imports of fuel, medicine and machinery would be disrupted, he added.

Earlier, Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras said all his party's MPs must vote in favour of the bailout law.

Mr Samaras, whose New Democracy party is a member of the governing coalition, said any rebels would face being dropped as parliamentary candidates.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, who quit on Friday afternoon, is the most senior defection so far.

Her Pasok party, the largest in the coalition, also suffered the loss of a deputy labour minister on Thursday.

The austerity cuts include:

* 15,000 public-sector job cuts
* liberalisation of labour laws
* lowering the minimum wage by 20% from 751 euros a month to 600 euros
* negotiating a debt write-off with banks.

These were presented to a eurozone ministers in Brussels on Thursday evening.

But they want a further 325m euros in savings for this year and also insist that Greek leaders give "strong political assurances" on the implementation of the packages.

RosannaDelrio108

2012-12-10T22:33:29Z

User:ShelbyQuan472

2012-12-07T19:31:13Z

90.209.180.114: Created page with "Price comparison websites should be regulated because the information they provide is not always fair, a consumer group has said. The consumers' association Which? said some sit..."

Price comparison websites should be regulated because the information they provide is not always fair, a consumer group has said.

The consumers' association Which? said some sites gave misleading quotes on insurance policies and could cause customers to spend more than necessary.

Initial prices could seem very cheap because some sites automatically pre-selected certain options, it said.

One comparison site said the research was "at odds" with its own figures.
Concerns

The City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), said the report echoed some of its concerns about price comparison websites.

"We note the findings and will bear them in mind as part of our ongoing supervision of the market," said a spokesman for the FSA.
Assumptions

Which? tested the market, by getting a researcher to use a false name to gather car insurance quotes from 11 comparison sites.

She put the same details in every time, and was offered prices ranging between �310.28 and �660.20.

The consumer group said this discrepancy could be partly explained by some comparison sites making assumptions about the driver.

For example, one decided that she would park her car on the road overnight. That small detail made her premium �83 more expensive than if she had specified that she would leave it in her garage.

Which? argued that comparison sites gave the impression that there was no need to go anywhere else but, in fact, they did not cover the whole market.
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According to its research, some sites covered less than a third of the market for certain insurance products. The coverage of the credit card and savings account markets was much wider.

Which? asked more than 9,000 of its members to rate 11 comparison sites, giving them a percentage for customer satisfaction. The highest score any site received was 44%.
'Better chance'

One comparison website - Moneysupermarket.com - was second on the satisfaction league table with 43%. However, it disputed some of the Which? findings.

Head of content Clare Francis said the website's own customer satisfaction survey found that 92% of people said they would use the site again.

"Last year we saved our customers �800m, so there is clearly a lot of people out there who really value the benefit of using a price comparison site to find the best deal for them," she said, stressing that the website was free to use.

"When it comes to car insurance, for example, we compare more than a hundred companies, so you stand a much better chance of finding the best value cover, and the right policy cover if you use a comparison site."
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ShelbyQuan472

2012-12-07T19:31:10Z

User:ParisiLunn268

2012-11-27T15:06:02Z

90.209.180.114: Created page with "An Easter strike by fuel tanker drivers has been ruled out by the Unite union. It is to join conciliation talks and says there may still be a strike after Easter if those fail. ..."

An Easter strike by fuel tanker drivers has been ruled out by the Unite union.

It is to join conciliation talks and says there may still be a strike after Easter if those fail.

Government advice to drivers to top up tanks has been blamed by retailers for causing "panic buying". Demand for petrol rose 172% on Thursday, and diesel 77%, said independent experts.

In York, a woman suffered 40% burns on Thursday when petrol ignited as she was decanting it in her kitchen.

The union announced on Friday morning that there would be no strike over Easter.

In a statement, assistant general secretary Diana Holland said: "We do still retain the right to call strike action for after Easter should those talks break down."

Some 90% of UK forecourts are supplied by the Unite union's 2,000 or so members at the centre of the dispute.

Unite's drivers, who deliver fuel to Shell and Esso garages and supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's, have called for minimum working conditions covering pay, hours, holiday and redundancy.

Conciliation service Acas says it hopes talks between employers and unions will take place shortly after Monday.
Contingency plans

Queues formed at many petrol stations across the country on Thursday as demand for fuel rose.
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�Start Quote

It is for the employers and unions to resolve their issues by getting around the negotiating table and talking�

DECC spokeswoman

Some garages ran dry but retailers said they were coping and normal deliveries would ensure supplies were replenished.

Anticipating a strike they describe as "completely wrong", ministers have called for motorists to keep their cars "topped up" but urged people not to queue.

On Thursday, Energy Secretary Ed Davey advised that people "just need to do the sensible thing... get a full tank of petrol, not a half-tank".

ParisiLunn268

2012-11-27T15:05:58Z