Headlines

The Greek government warned dissenters in the ruling party on Wednesday against rejecting an austerity plan agreed under a new international bailout deal, after data showed the depth of the nation's economic crisis. Prime Minister George Papandreou met senior members of his socialist party to try to stem an outbreak of unrest over the social cost of the bailout before it turns into a full-scale parliamentary rebellion. Tens of thousands of Greeks are protesting regularly against waves of austerity demanded by the European Union and IMF, as well as against corruption and state mismanagement.

Tokyo Electric Power Co should go through a court-led restructuring similar to Japan Airlines, the head of the Tokyo bourse was quoted as saying, sending the utility's stock tumbling to an all-time low on the possibility of a delisting, Reuters reported. Japan's government, however, reiterated there would be no such restructuring of the operator of the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which it has said should remain solvent and listed as it battles to restore power output and compensate victims of the nuclear crisis.

When it comes to Greek bonds, Europe is trying to have its cake and eat it, too, The Wall Street Journal reported. Germany and other strong euro-zone countries, trying to fashion a second bailout for Greece, want the country's private-sector creditors to bear some of the burden in exchange for granting new taxpayer money to Athens. The European Central Bank, however, backed by France, doesn't want to do anything that would cast Greece into default or trigger losses for banks that hold its government bonds.

In a related story, The Wall Street Journal reported that Greece is for sale—cheap—and Germany is buying. German companies are hunting for bargains in Greece as the debt-stricken government moves to sell state-owned assets to stabilize the country's finances. Deutsche Telekom AG on Monday said it would purchase an additional 10% stake in Greece's Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA for about €400 million, or roughly $590 million, increasing the German company's ownership to 40%.

House prices in Dublin have fallen nearly 50 per cent since their peak in 2007, the Central Statistics Office has said. According to the CSO’s Residential Property Price Index, house prices in the capital are 46 per cent lower than 2007, while apartment prices have fallen 53 per cent since their high in February 2007, the Irish Times reported. Nationally, residential property prices fell by 1 per cent in the month of April. This compares with a decline of 1.7 per cent recorded in March.

Recruiters filled permanent and temporary vacancies at the slowest pace in seven months in May, a survey showed Wednesday, adding to worries about the strength of the economic recovery, Reuters reported. Research for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and accounting firm KPMG showed private sector job creation slowed at a time when the government hopes companies will pick up the slack left by public cuts. The figures will fuel fears that the economic recovery is struggling to gather pace in the second quarter after output stagnated over the previous six months.

Swedish car maker Saab Automobile said production at its Trollhattan plant was halted Tuesday afternoon due to a lack of components, and is expected to start up again Wednesday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Saab resumed production at Trollhattan on May 27 after a two-month suspension. Production was halted after the auto maker failed to pay its bills and suppliers stopped delivering components. Upon resuming production, the company said it expected initial disturbances as it would take time to get everything running smoothly.

Germany’s senior bank regulator has criticised the European Banking Authority for its conduct of this year’s bank stress tests, accusing it of acting without legitimacy in setting controversial rules that define bank capital, the Financial Times reported. The comments from Jochen Sanio, head of BaFin, highlight the unhappiness in Germany at the EBA’s approach to the tests and cast doubt on the backing for the new authority from the financial sector in Europe’s largest economy.

Telecommunications-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp., in the process of liquidating its assets, has asked that an official retiree committee be named to negotiate over ending or modifying health-care benefits the company attempted to cut off last year, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In a filing Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., Canada-based Nortel said it had spent $19 million on U.S. retiree and disability benefits since being thwarted by a July 2010 appeals court decision that said companies must talk to retirees before terminating their benefits.

Dish Network Corp. is threatening Blockbuster Canada with the loss of its use of the Blockbuster logo, as part of a strategy to acquire its assets, Blockbuster Canada Co. said, Bloomberg reported. Blockbuster’s U.S. business, acquired by Dish, has asked for bankruptcy court permission to end an agreement with the Canadian unit over trademarks, Grant Thornton Ltd., a receiver for the Canadian assets said in court papers filed in Manhattan court today.