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European Central Bank President Mario Draghi

The Greek government and its creditors return to the negotiating table this week to revive stalled talks on a debt swap as German Chancellor Angela Merkel places pressure on both sides to forge a deal.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said two days ago that talks with the Institute of International Finance will resume on Jan. 18. The Washington-based IIF, which represents banks holding the bonds, said on Jan. 14 there is a

Declaring Japan has turned a corner in the battle to stabilize its tsunami-damaged nuclear plant, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced Friday the facility has achieved a stable state of “cold shutdown,” a crucial step toward lifting evacuation orders and closing the plant.

Noda’s announcement was intended to reassure the nation that significant progress has been made in the nine months since the March 11 tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant into meltdowns in the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

But the plant 140 miles (230 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo remains vulnerable to problems, its surroundings are contaminated by radiation and closing the plant safely will take 30 or more years.

“The reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant have reached a state of cold shutdown,” Noda said. “Now that we have achieved stability in the reactors, a major concern for the nation has been resolved.”

Noda said he hopes conditions will improve quickly so that the people who have been displaced by the crisis can return home “even a day sooner.”

“There are many issues that remain,” Noda said. “Our battle is not over.”

The government’s official endorsement of the claim by Tokyo Electric Power Co. that the reactors have reached cold shutdown status is a necessary step toward revising evacuation zones around the plant and focusing efforts from simply stabilizing the facility to actually starting the arduous process of shutting it down.

But Noda acknowledged the assessment has some important caveats.

The government says Fukushima Dai-ichi has reached cold shutdown “conditions”_ a cautious phrasing reflecting the fact that TEPCO cannot measure temperatures of melted fuel in the damaged reactors in the same way as with normally functioning ones.

Even so, the announcement marks the end of the second phase of the government’s lengthy roadmap to completely decommission the plant.

Officials can now start discussing whether to allow some evacuees to return to less-contaminated areas _ although a 12-mile (20-kilometer) zone around the plant is expected to remain off limits for years to come. The crisis displaced some 100,000 people.

Noda said the government will step up decontamination efforts and will ready 1 trillion yen ($12.8 billion) for urgently needed projects next year. He also said 30,000 workers will be trained.

A cold shutdown normally means a nuclear reactor’s coolant system is at atmospheric pressure and its reactor core is at a temperature below 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), making it impossible for a chain reaction to take place.

According to TEPCO, temperature gauges inside the Fukushima reactors show the pressure vessel is at around 70 C (158 F). The government also says the amount of radiation now being released around the plant is at or below 1 millisievert per year _ equivalent to the annual legal exposure limit for ordinary citizens before the crisis began.

Akira Yamaguchi, a nuclear physicist at Osaka University, said that the government’s definition of cold shutdown is disputable.

“But what’s most important right now is that there aren’t any massive radiation leaks any more,” he said.

Putting longer-term issues aside, he warned that much of the backup equipment installed at the plant since the crisis began is makeshift and may break down. He said winter cold could test their strength.

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Premier Mario Monti said Sunday his government of technocrats has approved a package of austerity and growth measures worth euro30 billion ($40.53 billion) to “reawaken” the Italian economy and help save the euro common currency from collapse.

The measures include immediate cuts to the costs of maintaining Italy’s bulky political class as well as significant measures to fight tax evasion, Monti told a news conference following a three-hour Cabinet meeting.

As part of the political cost cuts, Monti said he would forego his salaries as premier and finance minister _ a move he said was a personal decision and not meant as an example for other ministers in the government, which was formed 2 1/2 weeks ago after Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation under market and political pressure.

The package also includes measures to spur growth and competition, while aiming to stamp out rampant nepotism. But it also raises the retirment age and the number of years of service to qualify for a full pension, steps strongly opposed by unions, and imposes new taxes on Italians’ private wealth, including their homes, boats and luxury cars, measures that conservatives have protested.

“We gave a lot of weight to fairness, we had to distribute some of the sacrifices but we took a lot of care to distribute them in a fair way,” Monti said.

Monti will outline the measures on Monday in addresses to both houses of Parliament, which must approve them. Monti said he will appeal to lawmakers’ sense of responsibility.

The Berlusconi government stepped down due to its failure to get tough measures through a fractious Parliament, which remains intact, meaning fault lines could easily reopen.

“A lot depends on how well or not we explain to the citizens what we are trying to do,” Monti said.

The premier, an economist who once was an EU commissioner, has been under extreme pressure to come up with speedy and credible measures that will persuade markets to stop betting against the common currency. Italian borrowing costs have spiked, which could spell disaster if Italy is unable to keep up on payments to service its enormous debt of euro1.9 trillion ($2.57 trillion), or 120 percent of its GDP.

Unlike Greece, Portugal and Ireland, which got bailouts after their borrowing rates skyrocketed, the eurozone’s third-largest economy is considered to be too big to bail out. An Italian default would be disastrous for the 17-member eurozone and reverberate throughout the global economy.

Deputy Economic Minister Vittorio Grilli said the measures passed will ensure that Italy’s budget will be balanced by 2013 through a 2 percent increase in value-added tax from the second half of 2012. Berlusconi’s now-defunct government already raised the value-added tax from 20 percent to 21 percent as part of earlier measures.

In addition, the government adopted austerity measures worth euro20 billion and euro10 billion in measures aimed at boosting anemic Italian growth. They include pension reform, local government spending cuts, the reestablishment of a tax on a first house that was annulled by Berlusconi and new taxes on boats over 10 meters (30 feet) in length and on luxury cars, Grilli said payday loans no teletrack.

At the same time, the measures will reduce the tax on the cost of employment, give fiscal breaks to companies that invest to grow their businesses and increase investments in local public transport.

Monti denied an impression that the measures mostly comprised new taxes.

“There are certainly taxes, we know that in Italy it is easier to reduce the deficit through new taxes than through cutting costs,” Monti said. “But what we did, for example, in terms of rebalancing the pension goes in the right structural direction.”

The government “made a particular effort to make sure that higher taxes did not affect the usual suspects,” Monti said.

The premier spent the weekend briefing political parties, unions, business groups, consumer lobbies and others. Unions were particularly critical of the measures to reform the pension system, saying certain classes of workers, including those who do physical labor, shouldn’t be forced to work extra years, and that women who enter the work force after raising children would have to work well into old age to meet seniority requirements.

The measures raise the pension age to 66 years for men in 2012 and for women by 2018, and also increases to 42 years and one month the years of service for a man to retire with full benefits, 41 years and one month for a woman. Labor Minister Elsa Fornero said it would be possible to retire earlier, “with a small penalty.”

Fornero wiped away a tear when she said that the pension reform would require sacrifices, including a hold on inflation adjustments for larger pensions.

On the fight against tax evasion, Monti said there would be no more tax amnesties, a mechanism used frequently in the past to recover lost revenues. In addition, the measures imposed a 1.5 percent penalty on money that was repatriated in a recent scheme that allowed Italians who had concealed money abroad to repatriate it for a negligible 5 percent penalty.

The measures also limit cash transactions to payments under euro1,000 _ down from euro2,500. In Italy, paying in cash is common as a way to conceal transactions from the government and avoid paying the value-added tax.

After meeting with Monti earlier Sunday, the head of Italy’s industrial lobby said that the survival of the common euro currency depends on Italy’s coming up with very strong austerity and growth measures _ followed by a concerted effort at the European level so that Italian sacrifices are not in vain.

Confindustria President Emma Marcegaglia described the measures as “very heavy.”

The coming days “will decided if the euro will survive or not. The first move to save the euro is in Italian hands, with a very strong measures,” Marcegaglia said. The measures will be “fundamental to saving Italy and to saving the euro.”

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Libyan fighters fanned out in Tripoli neighborhoods Saturday to search for armed supporters of fugitive leader Moammar Gadhafi a day after a major gunbattle rocked the capital for the first time in two months.

Dozens of men combed apartment buildings for suspects and weapons in the Abu Salim neighborhood, which is home to the prison of the same name that became notorious for the abuse and killing of Gadhafi opponents. A day earlier, a gunbattle broke out in the area when a group tried to raise the green flag that symbolizes the ousted regime.

Revealing serious divisions within the revolutionary ranks, Saturday’s sweep of Abu Salim was being conducted mainly by a breakaway militia that refuses to answer to the main Tripoli military council.

It is one of many factions that have refused to put themselves under the umbrella of official revolutionary authorities, raising fears of vigilante justice as the North African nation faces continued fighting by loyalists of the fugitive leader.

One anti-Gadhafi fighter stomped on a green flag as others searched vehicles. Another showed off a box stuffed with bullets he said was found in a second-floor apartment in one of the residential buildings.

Abdullah Naker, the head of the so-called revolutionary council, called on all anti-Gadhafi forces to join them in the search and warned his men will fight anybody who gets in their way.

“All of Tripoli will be searched and we will reorganize our checkpoints and our guards in public and private institutions inside of Tripoli and outside of Tripoli,” he told reporters.

He said eight wanted men and 12 other suspects were arrested. He also alleged that teachers have been telling students that Gadhafi will return and said teams had been sent to stop the practice.

“We gave the military council a chance to prove themselves and they failed, and we will not leave things to chance,” he said.

A senior Interior Ministry official, Ibrahim al-Bargathi, said Friday’s skirmish started when a group of some 30 people, including eight women and some armed men, started walking with green flags. Local opponents began fighting with them, then revolutionary forces swarmed into the area from across the city, he said payday loans.

He said six people were injured and 14 were captured _ nine men and five women.

It was the first major violence in Tripoli between Gadhafi supporters and revolutionary forces since the then-rebels swept into the capital in late August and forced the longtime leader into hiding. The tensions suggest Libyans face grave challenges in trying to reconcile after months of bitter civil war.

The flare-up in Tripoli and fierce resistance on two other fronts have set back the new rulers’ stated goals of declaring total victory and establishing democracy. It also raised fears of a protracted insurgency as Gadhafi, the ruler for nearly 42 years, remains on the run.

The capital has been relatively calm since then-rebels swept into the city two months ago. But Gadhafi’s loyalists have control of parts of his hometown of Sirte and the desert enclave of Bani Walid and have fought off NATO-backed revolutionary forces besieging them for weeks. Gadhafi has tried to rally his supporters with several audio recordings issued from hiding.

The firefight in Tripoli began after Friday prayers. Witnesses said dozens of loyalists carrying green flags appeared on a square in the Abu Salim neighborhood, which has long been a pro-Gadhafi stronghold. Residents also reported fighting in several other areas known to still hold loyalists of the former leader.

Interim leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the head of the governing National Transitional Council, had hoped to declare liberation this week after what he expected would be the imminent fall of the holdout city of Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown, 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast. That could allow the council to name a new interim government and set a timeline for holding elections within eight months.

The revolutionary forces control much of Sirte after launching a major push a week ago but still face heavy resistance.

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A three-day rally in the stock markets faded on Friday after a mixed jobs report and credit-rating cuts for Italy and Spain.

Indexes drifted between gains and losses in the morning, then turned lower after the Fitch agency cut Spain and Italy

In a recent Cineplex video segment, I talked about the future: smart homes, space tourism and flying cars. Well, it appears flying cars will be taking flight as early as next year.

In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently granted special exemptions for the Transition, paving the way for the vehicle to enter production later this year, for a 2012 delivery to customers. The Transition is a “roadable aircraft” that drives on the road like a car, but with a push of a button can extend its wings to fly the friendly skies.

But don’t expect to see these cars over your head while sitting on the 401: the Transition must take off and land at an airport like any other aircraft, but then can be driven home and parked in your garage overnight instead of requiring a hangar.

Manufactured by Massachusetts-based Terrafugia, the NHTSA stipulations relate to polycarbonate windscreen and highway-rated tires that must be used while on the road payday loans for bad credit.

The 19-foot long two-seater has a wingspan of 26 feet (when extended), top speeds of 185 kilometres per hour (and about 145 km/hour on the ground), while the 75-litre tank yields a range of about 800 kilometres.

What happens in the event of an in-air emergency? A full-vehicle parachute could be deployed. And there are airbags in case of a ground-based accident.

The company says the car will sell for about US $250,000. To reserve one, the company is taking a refundable deposit of US $10,000 and has about 100 orders so far.

In the U.S., you’ll need your “sport pilot” license to fly one, which you can get with a minimum of 20 hours of flight time, says the company. No word yet on what the equivalent Canadian license is and if this will even be street legal north of the 49th parallel.

If you had the cash, would you buy a Transition or other flying car?

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As the economic recovery sputters forward, banks locally and nationally continue to bleed revenue in such mainstays as commercial lending and, of course, mortgages. So they are increasingly catering to the only customers who have survived the Great Recession relatively unscathed: rich folks.

Customers with more than $1 million in liquid assets (not including the house, or two) can expect some extra coddling these days, as banks are adding services and staff to their wealth management divisions.

The new focus for many banks stems largely from a simple lack of other options

A billion pounds was wiped off the value of satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting PLC Friday after British Prime Minister David Cameron indicated that the government was not going to wave News Corp’s bid for the company through any time soon.

In a hastily arranged press conference, Cameron said the government was doing everything by the book but that a final decision on News Corp.’s bid would take “some time” given recent events.

His comments were later echoed by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is assessing News Corp.’s attempt to bid for the 61 percent of shares in BSkyB that it doesn’t already own. Hunt remains under pressure from opposition politicians to refer the bid to the Competition Commission for a full-scale monopoly review which could delay a decision even further.

With the decision pushed further out into the future, investors extended a slide in BSkyB’s share price that began on Tuesday as public fury mounted over phone hacking by the Sunday tabloid News of the World, which is part of Rupert Murdoch’s British press holdings.

By late afternoon London time, BSkyB’s share price was down 7.8 percent at 749 pence ($11.98). That means the company’s market value has lost over one billion pounds ($1.6 billion).

James Murdoch, his father’s heir-apparent, announced Thursday that the paper will close after this Sunday’s edition. Many observers saw the dramatic announcement to close the scandal-ridden tabloid as a ruse to save the BSkyB bid.

Alex DeGroote, analyst at Panmure Gordon, called the closure “a cynical attempt to improve the prospects of regulatory approval for the News Corp. deal with BSkyB” which is unlikely to work.

DeGroote said it was now more likely that OFCOM, the communications regulator, will have to review its position that News Corp no fax cash loans. executives are “fit and proper” persons to hold a broadcasting license.

“Leaving the legalities to one side, we cannot believe it makes political sense for a fragile coalition (government) to let this pass without thorough and fresh scrutiny,” he said.

In a sign of further trouble, French car company said on its Twitter feed that it would not be investing in any of News International’s titles “pending the formal investigations.” News International is the U.K. subsidiary of News Corp., which also owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

In addition to the one more edition of News of the World, News International, publishes The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, OFCOM, the British media regulator, released a letter on Friday which served to signal that it is watching News Corp. and BSkyB very closely to be sure that directors and controlling shareholders are “fit and proper” persons to hold a broadcasting license.

It informed John Whittingdale, chairman of the House of Commons media committee, that it would not prejudge the outcome of the current investigations. OFCOM, which had earlier given its OK to the News Corp. bid, has the power to deny or revoke a license.

The closure of the News of the World was having repercussions all across the British media sector. Shares in Trinity Mirror PLC were up around 7 percent, while those of Daily Mail & General Trust PLC spiked over 1 percent as investors conclude that their Sunday publications will be able to pick up readers from the axed News of the World, which was the most read British newspaper.

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Strong quarterly results from Nike are helping to push stocks sharply higher.

The shoemaker gained 6 percent after beating analysts’ expectations. Retailers rose on signs that consumers are still spending.

A small lift in home prices and progress in Greece toward avoiding a default also lifted stocks.

Stock indexes have fallen from their April highs on concerns that the economy is slowing. Tuesday’s gain was the second in two days.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 145 points, or 1 Business Card Holders.2 percent, to close at 12,189. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 17, or 1.3 percent, at 1,297. The Nasdaq rose 41, or 1.5 percent, to 2,729.

Four stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was relatively light at 3.2 billion shares.

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