Will China Make the Yuan a Gold-Backed Currency?

Source: Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30978

If China Backs Its Currency with Gold, It Could Have Profound Effects for Investors … and Consumers. - Larry Edelson – writes today:

I know for a fact that Beijing wants its yuan to eventually become a gold-backed currency, much like the Swiss franc was originally. Backing the yuan with some gold will certainly help it become a major international currency.

Edelson is a financial adviser who travels frequently to Asia, a former high-volume gold trader who is interviewed a lot in the mainstream financial media.

I have no idea whether Edelson is right or not. But he’s not the first to make the claim.

Doug Casey says that if one country – such as China – switches to a gold-backed currency, the dollar will be toast:

All it will take for the world to realize that U.S. dollars are nothing more than hot potatoes is for one country (Doug postulated that maybe China would be first) to introduce a gold-backed currency. If China introduced a gold-backed yuan, for example, who on earth would want anything to do with U.S. dollars?

Similarly, Safe Haven points out:

Suppose a large exporter, such as China, which undervalues its currency and runs a large trade surplus as a result, takes a huge radical step and goes all the way to a 100%-reserve gold currency. The ultimate hard currency. If this succeeds, China is the new England – the financial capital of the world, forever. Everyone else’s money? In a word: pesos. Hard currency is Chinese currency. China’s natural supremacy over the barbarian kingdoms of the West is restored.

Goldcore argues:

China is clearly trying to position the yuan or renminbi as the alternative global reserve currency. The Chinese likely realize that they will need to surpass the Federal Reserve’s official, but unaudited, gold holding of 8,133.5 tones.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently mooted the possibility of a return to some form of gold standard. It seems extremely likely that senior and influential Chinese policy makers, bankers and government officials may be having similar thoughts.

Simit Patel writes:

China’s central bank continues to aggressively accumulate gold. Is this a setup for making the renminbi a gold-backed currency? Many have speculated that this is the game plan. Certainly a currency that is gold-backed will have appeal as a reserve currency capable of storing wealth; indeed, the reason why the US was able to position itself as a reserve currency is largely because it was once pegged to gold.

MaxKeiser says:

China is clearly trying to position the yuan or renminbi as the alternative global reserve currency. The Chinese likely realize that they will need to surpass the Federal Reserve’s official, but unaudited, gold holding of 8,133.5 tones. China is the sixth largest holder of gold reserves in the world today and officially has reserves of 1054.1 tones which is less than half those of even Euro debtor nations France and Italy who are believed to have 2,435.4 and 2,451.8 tones respectively.

[This] game theory article is great because it points out that China does not need to amass a gold stock similar to the US, it can simply go to a gold standard now and effect a simultaneous devaluation against the dollar (as game theory dictates that the US and all other CB’s would be forced to follow China’s lead, or risk losing all their capital as investors buy the only gold backed currency in the world).

And Wikileaks noted several reasons for China’s stocking up on gold. ZeroHedge summarizes:

As the following leaked cable explains, gold is, to China at least, nothing but the opportunity cost of destroying the dollar’s reserve status. Putting that into dollar terms is, therefore, impractical at best, and illogical at worst. We have a suspicion that the following cable from the US embassy in China is about to go not viral but very much global, and prompt all those mutual fund managers who are on the golden sidelines to dip a toe in the 24-karat pool. The only thing that matters from China’s perspective is that “suppressing the price of gold is very beneficial for the U.S. in maintaining the U.S. dollar’s role as the international reserve currency. China’s increased gold reserves will thus act as a model and lead other countries towards reserving more gold. Large gold reserves are also beneficial in promoting the internationalization of the RMB.” Now, what would happen if mutual and pension funds finally comprehend they are massively under invested in the one asset which China is without a trace of doubt massively accumulating behind the scenes is nothing short of a worldwide scramble, not so much for paper, but every last ounce of physical gold…

From Wikileaks:

3. CHINA’S GOLD RESERVES

“China increases its gold reserves in order to kill two birds with one stone”

“The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal (Shijie Xinwenbao)(04/28): “According to China’s National Foreign Exchanges Administration China ‘s gold reserves have recently increased. Currently, the majority of its gold reserves have been located in the U.S. and European countries. The U.S. and Europe have always suppressed the rising price of gold. They intend to weaken gold’s function as an international reserve currency. They don’t want to see other countries turning to gold reserves instead of the U.S. dollar or Euro. Therefore, suppressing the price of gold is very beneficial for the U.S. in maintaining the U.S. dollar’s role as the international reserve currency. China’s increased gold reserves will thus act as a model and lead other countries towards reserving more gold. Large gold reserves are also beneficial in promoting the internationalization of the RMB”.

Berlin warns Athens over austerity plan

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186411.html

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says the stability of the entire eurozone would be in danger should Greece fail to pass a new austerity package.

Schaeuble pointed out that Greece will not receive its next tranche of international aid unless its parliament passes the package on June 29.

“If the package is rejected, which nobody expects, it would be a reason for the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the eurozone countries and the European Union not to release the next tranche of aid,” the German minister was quoted as saying by the Associated Press on Sunday.

"We are doing everything to prevent an escalation of the crisis for Europe, but must at the same time be prepared for everything," he further explained.

The Greek cabinet approved the new austerity budget plan on Wednesday to help ease its huge public debt despite massive protests in the country.

Greek lawmakers will vote Wednesday on a €28 billion ($39.8 billion) midterm austerity plan and a draft implementation bill on Thursday.

On Monday, the Greek parliament began deliberations on the unpopular austerity plan.

Without passage of the measures, the EU and the IMF intend to block payment of the fifth tranche of Greece's 110-billion-euro bailout program.

Athens needs the 12-billion-euro disbursement to pay its bills next month and avert the eurozone's first sovereign default.

According to polls, three-quarters of Greece's 11 million people are opposed to the austerity measures.

EU leaders pass Greece rescue package

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (R) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso participate in a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels on June 23, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186035.html

As consensus has been reached among EU members, the IMF and the Greek government on budget cuts and tax increases, Eurozone leaders agree on a fresh rescue package for Greece to fend off a financial crisis.

The leaders of all 27 EU member states also called on Greek lawmakers to "complete work on outstanding elements to allow the necessary decisions to be taken by early July," AFP reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, following a two-day summit in Brussels, Athens formally requested financial aid.

"We've got the support of our partners and I think this is not only a green light but also a positive sign for the future of Greece," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

Despite weeks of protests against the government's austerity measures, the Greek cabinet approved a new austerity budget plan on Wednesday to help ease its massive public debt.

The 2012-2015 austerity budget plan has been a key requirement of the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release the next tranche of debt funding worth 12 billion euros ($17 billion), part of a 110-billion-euro rescue package agreed on last year.

The new plan is worth some EUR 28 billion and includes a privatization program aimed at raising EUR 50 billion and further budget cuts as well as tax hikes.

Greece has a debt of over EUR 300 billion, which is equivalent to more than 150 percent of its annual economic output.

Greece approves austerity measures

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185873.html

Despite weeks of protests against the government's austerity measures, the Greek cabinet has approved a new austerity budget plan to help ease its massive public debt.

The 2012-2015 austerity budget plan has been a key requirement from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release the next tranche of debt funding worth 12 billion euros ($17 billion), part of a 110-billion-euro rescue package agreed on last year.

The new plan that was approved on Wednesday, is worth some EUR 28 billion and includes a privatization program aimed at raising EUR 50 billion and further budget cuts as well as tax increases.

Greece has a debt of over EUR 300 billion, which is worth more than 150 percent of its annual economic output. Moreover, the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou had earlier this week warned that if the austerity measures were not be implemented, the country could face a “catastrophic” default.

Therefore, Greek officials had urged the EU and the IMF to hand over the bailout package before mid-July, otherwise the country would default.

There has been concerns that if Greece would default, Spain, Italy and Belgium could follow. This could then threaten the whole world.

"If there were a failure to resolve that situation, it would pose threats to the European financial systems, the global financial system and to European political unity," US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday, referring to the Greek debt crisis.

Unions in Greece, however, have planned a 48-hour strike to protest government's new measures

The country has witnessed massive anti-government protests which turned violent at times and left scores of protesters and security forces injured since last year when it was first bailed out by the EU and the IMF.

Greek PM survives confidence vote

Greek Premier George Papandreou in parliament's vote confidence session on June 21, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185753.html

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has survived a crucial vote of confidence enabling him to gear up for implementing tougher austerity measures in the country.

Papandreou won the vote by 155-143 in the 300-seat chamber, but still faces another critical vote for fresh austerity measures next week, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

The Greek premier is seeking 28 billion euros ($40.24 billion) in budget cuts and new taxes, and 50 billion euros worth of privatization of public assets.

The European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have pressured Greece to pass its austerity package by the end of June, threatening that the troubled state will not receive the next batch of bailout funds, worth 12 billion euros.

Greek officials have urged the IMF and the EU to hand over the package before mid-July, or the country will face default.

Greece received a 110 billion euro EU-IMF bailout loan last year over its massive debt crisis, but did not manage to resolve its financial problems.

Papandreou still needs the support of his socialist party to back a radical program of spending cuts, tax increases, and a mass assets sell-off by the end of next week.

Protesters and unions say privatization and further cuts to save the Greek economy will only affect the working class.

Since last year, Greece has witnessed massive anti-government protests which turned violent at times and left scores of protesters and security forces injured.

Eurozone postpones planned Greek loan

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos arriving at a meeting with finance eurozone ministers on June 19, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185465.html

Eurozone ministers have postponed an emergency multi-billion-euro loan to debt-ridden Greece, pressuring the country to introduce tighter austerity measures.

During a meeting in Luxembourg, eurozone finance ministers postponed a final draft extending 12 billion euros (USD 17 billion) in emergency loans to Greece, requiring the Greek parliament to pass a new austerity package worth 28 billion euros, Reuters reported.

The delay comes as Greece is expected to pay an installment of last year's 110 billion euro bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund by mid-July.

“To move to the payment of the next tranche, we need to be sure that the Greek parliament will approve the confidence vote and support the program, so the decision will be taken at the start of the month of July," Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked his country on Sunday to support the austerity plan in order to avoid a "catastrophic default."

The recent request for tougher austerity follows massive nationwide protests and three general strikes against the country's current austerity cuts.

The country has a debt of over EUR 300 billion, which is worth more than 150 percent of its annual economic output.

Since last year, Greece has witnessed massive anti-government protests that have turned violent at times and left scores of protesters and security forces injured.

Greeks renew anti-government protests

Nationwide anti-austerity demonstrations in Greece (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185274.html

Thousands of union members in Greece pour into the streets of the capital, Athens, to renew their protests against the government's austerity measures and deterioration of debt crisis.

"People should have no illusions ... (the government) and creditors will sit together to skin the Greek people alive," the Greek Communist party secretary Aleka Papariga said, the Associated Press reported.

Since last year, Greece has been the scene of near-daily street protests against the government's austerity measures, which have targeted salaries and pensions.

The beleaguered Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou dismissed his finance minister George Papaconstantinou on Friday in a cabinet reshuffle, which was intended to appease protesters and draw support for the administration's belt-tightening plans.

Papaconstantinou, who masterminded the government's five-year austerity scheme, was widely unpopular for enforcing spending cuts and tax rises as part of last year's 110-billion-euro international bailout deal.

Evangelos Venizelos, Prime Minister's main internal Socialist rival, has succeeded Papaconstantinou as Greece's new finance minister.

The European Union finance ministers are expected to endorse imbursement of a fifth installment from the 110-billion-euro rescue package approved for Greece in May 2010. If the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also agrees to pay its own share of the installment in early July, then Greece will receive a desperately needed 12-billion-euro help soon.

Among other issues that have provoked storms of protest in the small Mediterranean country is the government plan to sell off state enterprises in a bid to appease international creditors.

Anti-government demonstrations have turned violent at times, leaving scores of protesters and security forces dead or injured. The turmoil ranged from nationwide strikes and fruitless negotiations on the formation of a national unity government to calls from opposition parties for snap elections.

Analysts have cautioned against the Greek debt crisis and its potential of causing an embarrassing default, warning that it could spread to other European countries if not wisely handled.

Greek PM to form new government

Greek police forces face anti-austerity protesters on June 15, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184917.html

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has announced that he is to form a new government and push forward tougher economic measures despite anti-austerity protests in the country.

Papandreou plans to form a new cabinet and to seek a confidence vote from his Socialist Party in an attempt to continue austerity plans to reduce the country's debt, Reuters reported.

“Tomorrow I will form a new government and will immediately ask for a vote of confidence in parliament. I will continue on the same road, the road of duty,” Papandreou said during a televised address.

Papandreou's announcement follows his recent offer to step down as premier if the country's main opposition New Democracy Party accepted certain targets and commitments in Greece's political system.

Greece is to receive a new austerity package worth over 28 billion euros, which calls for tighter austerity measures.

The new austerity package comes as debt-ridden Greece has failed to resolve its financial problems despite receiving a 110-billion-euro European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout loan last year.

Greece has witnessed massive protests and three general strikes against the government's austerity measures in the past weeks.

Greeks protest new austerity measures

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184428.html

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators have staged a gathering in front of the parliament in Athens, to protest the government's new austerity measures.

Some 20,000 people attended the 19th consecutive day of anti-government demonstrations in Athens' central Syntagma square and said that they would form a human chain around the legislative chamber on Wednesday when officials are to meet to discuss a new round of austerity measures, AFP reported.

The demonstrators shouted "Thieves! Thieves! Thieves!" at the “corrupt politicians” and condemned the government's privatization plan and austerity measures.

The demonstrators also called for a general strike planned for Wednesday in response to the meeting that will be held on the same day.

The meeting on Wednesday will take place as Greece failed to meet its fiscal targets under the EUR 110 billion bailout package by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Therefore, the government seeks to introduce a new plan to raise taxes and reduce spending to avoid default.

The new austerity package will be worth over EUR 28 billion, and will include an additional EUR 6.4 billion in spending cuts.

"We need to plan beyond the general strike," one of the protesters said.

"There are many out there who are waiting for this mobilization to fizzle out."

The Greek demonstrators, however, have vowed not to give in.

"We will stay on the squares until those who created today's impasse leave and do not return under another guise," a demonstrator said.

Since last year, Greece has witnessed massive anti-government protests which turned violent at times and left scores of protesters and security forces dead or injured.

Earlier this month, the anti-government demonstrators took over the finance ministry building in Athens.

A poll conducted last month, found that Greeks no longer have confidence their government can pull the country out of their national debt.

Greece OK's new austerity measures

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183998.html

New austerity measures have been approved by the Greek government in a move to save the country's economy from collapsing under a mountain of debt.

At a six-hour cabinet meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister George Papandreou appealed for unity over the measures he presented and backed fresh austerity measures including a wave of privatizations, AFP reported.

"We are at a crucial juncture... I will insist that this plan is approved with a big majority... and I will invite all the parties in parliament to a dialogue and to cooperation," Papandreou said.

Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou also told reporters the cabinet approved the mid-term plan and submitted it to parliament.

The new wave of austerity measures was called for by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after they offered Greece a 110-billion-euro ($160 billion) bailout loan package last year.

The renewed austerity measures for 2012-2015 suggested would yield an estimated 28.5 billion euros of savings, including 6.4 billion euros this year.

The overall plan is designed to help Athens regain access to borrowing markets but investors remain unconvinced and credit rates have risen instead of falling.

The eurozone's chief policy maker Jean-Claude Juncker told journalists in Luxembourg, "It is obvious that there will be a second program for Greece on top of last year's 110 billion euros."

"I am in the middle of negotiating a global solution for Greece," he added.

The EU and the IMF have demanded proof of reforms before approving further aid, which could be more than 90 billion euros from a mixture of new loans, Greek asset sales, and rolling over privately-held Greek debt.

The IMF has also threatened to hold back its next scheduled slice of loan funding -- part of an overall 12-billion-euro installment Athens needs to pay next month's bills -- if Europe cannot provide a long-term solution to Greece's woes.

In Frankfurt, European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet insisted there should be no debt restructuring for Greece.

With unemployment running over 16 percent in Greece and first quarter economic growth of just 0.2 percent, social and political tension is rising with every turn of the budgetary screw.

Greek protesters seize finance ministry

The Greek finance ministry building, on which protesters hang a giant banner calling for a general strike in Athens, June 3, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183025.html

Greek protesters have taken over the finance ministry building in Athens as the country agreed with its European partners to introduce new austerity measures in return for a new bailout package.

Protesters belonging to the left-wing The All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) union unfolded a giant banner from the roof of the finance ministry building on the central Syntagma square, calling for a nationwide strike against the new austerity measures that the government agreed to take in return for the new bailout package.

"From dawn today forces of PAME have symbolically occupied the finance ministry, calling on workers to rise, organize their struggle and prevent the government's barbarous and anti-popular measures from passing," the front said, AFP reported.

Angry citizens in the country have now, for a tenth consecutive day, held anti-government demonstrations against the austerity measures.

Protesters have set up a camp in the central square of the capital, in a move modeled after the Spanish M-15 movement and the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.

The new bailout plan will mean harsher austerity measures, as it is aimed at reducing the 2011 budget deficit by EUR 6.5 billion. PAME said the new plan would “turn workers into slaves.”

The plan, however, is set to be approved by EU finance ministers on June 20. Additionally, the government will also commence its EUR 50 billion privatization program.

Greece received a EUR 110 billion EU-IMF bailout loan last year, as it faced a massive debt crisis, but did not manage to resolve its financial problems.

Since last year, Greece has witnessed massive anti-government protests which turned violent at times and left scores of protesters and security forces dead or injured.

A poll conducted recently found that the majority of Greeks no longer have confidence their government can pull the country out of its national debt.

Putin: IMF head victim of conspiracy

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/182433.html

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the sexual assault case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be a conspiracy to tarnish his image ahead of French elections.

Putin said the controversial charges against the former director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is hard to accept, adding that he is worried that Strauss-Kahn might be the victim of a plot to discredit him and stop him from running for president in France.

"It is hard for me to evaluate the real political underlying reasons and I do not even want to get into that subject, but I cannot believe that everything is as it seems and how it was initially presented," Putin told Interfax news agency, quoted by the Daily Telegraph.

"It does not sit right in my head."

A French politician earlier claimed that Strauss-Khan, just days before his arrest, had said he believed Putin was plotting to oust him from his position as head of the IMF.

"He said the Russians and notably Putin had allied themselves with France to try to have him fired from the IMF to stop him running for (French) president," Claude Bartolone, a socialist politician, said, according to the Telegraph.

Strauss-Kahn is awaiting a grand jury decision on whether to indict him on charges of sexual assault and attempted rape of a 32-year-old Manhattan hotel chambermaid.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested on May 14 over allegations that he had sexually attacked the cleaning lady at a luxury hotel near Times Square.

He was expected to declare his candidacy for the French presidency soon and considered as a strong contender to defeat President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, could face 5 to 25 years in prison if convicted.

'Ex-IMF chief will be cleared of charges'

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/181281.html

Former chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be cleared of charges of attempted rape against a New York hotel maid, his lawyer asserted.

Strauss-Kahn's main attorney, Benjamin Brafman, has announced that his client will plead not guilty and would be cleared of recent sex assault charges, AFP reported.

"Nothing is certain, but from what I've discerned in the investigation, he will be acquitted... He has impressed me very much. Despite the circumstances, he's doing well,” Brafman stated.

There has been no announcement on whether the police have discovered any DNA evidence that would prove the high-profile Frenchman guilty of the seven charges brought against him by the New York Police Department, including the alleged rape of the 32-year-old female employee at the Sofitel hotel in New York.

However, prosecutors at last week's bail hearing have insisted that the evidence compiled in the case supports the woman's claims.

The former French finance minister, who has rejected all charges against him, has paid $1 million in cash and has deposited a $5 million insurance bond in order to secure his release on bail.

Strauss-Kahn will have to appear in court on June 6 to formally enter his plea. His full trial may still be months away.

Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director of IMF on Wednesday amid concerns over the future of ongoing talks about the euro zone debt crisis.

He was also expected to declare his candidacy for the French presidency soon and was considered as a strong contender against the current President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential election.

Benjamin Brafman is a New York-based criminal defense attorney who maintains a criminal defense firm, the Brafman Associates.

Brafman has handled cases for clients including Michael Jackson, Sean Combs, Peter Gatien, James Patino, and Vincent Basciano.

Strauss-Kahn's security conditions for his bail costs over $200,000 a month.

Geithner: Strauss-Kahn cannot run IMF

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180511.html

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has questioned the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief's competency, saying he doubts Dominique Strauss-Kahn can lead the organization.

"He's obviously not in the position to run the IMF," AFP quoted Geithner as saying on Wednesday.

Addressing the Harvard Club in New York on Tuesday, Geithner said the IMF's executive board should designate an interim head.

Geithner's remark came in the wake of Strauss-Kahn's sexual scandal, which may put the embattled French official behind bars.

The 62-year-old French politician was arrested on charges of sexual assault against a hotel maid on Saturday.

A New York court then jailed him in notorious Rikers Island jail after his bail was denied by a judge.

On Monday, Strauss-Kahn pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.

He, however, would be kept in solitary confinement until his next court session on Friday.

Strauss-Kahn faces charges including attempted rape, sex abuse, criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching. He could face 5 to 25 years in prison.

This is the first time a senior official from US President Barack Obama's administration has publicly spoken about the issue. However, Geithner refused to comment on the case or the details of the charges against Strauss-Kahn.

The IMF chief was detained onboard a plane on Saturday before flying to the French capital, Paris.

The IMF is the intergovernmental organization which oversees the global financial system through the macroeconomic policies of its member countries.

EU to hold talks on Greek debt

European Union finance leaders are to discuss Greece's debt problem

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180159.html

Finance ministers of the European Union are expected to hold talks on Greece's debt-ridden economy, as it continues to expand beyond predictions.

The EU warned of Greece's already massive debt expanding at a much faster pace than forecasted, as its leaders are due to discuss further possible solutions for the troubled Greek economy in Brussels, AP reported.

This month's talks were thought to be primarily on an aid package Portugal had received. However, Greece's swelling debt and its failure to restore investor confidence after receiving a $158 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU has raised the union's concern.

Some EU officials have recently suggested a second bailout for Greece in order to cover financial shortcomings in 2012 and 2013, while some other EU members have also suggested that Greece sell property in order to reduce its debt.

EU financial leaders are recommending even further austerity measures and financial reforms by the Greek government.

This comes as the 62 year-old IMF Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on Saturday on charges of attempted rape against a female hotel employee in New York. Strauss-Kahn was expected to participate in the meetings.

The European Union and the International Monetary Fund granted a EUR110 billion ($158-billion) bailout to the troubled state in 2010.

The bailout loan saved Greece from the brink of default. However, Athens was obliged to implement a strict austerity package, including the cutting of public sector salary and pensions, increasing taxes and overhauling the pension system, to survive.

As a consequence Greece has been witnessing a series of protests following the government's proposal of a new program to cut 26 billion euros over the next three years in attempts to cut the country's debt.

IMF chief charged with 'attempted rape'

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179974.html

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been formally charged with sexual assault after attacking a maid in a New York hotel, police say.

The charges included "criminal sexual act, unlawful emprisonment, attempted rape" and "assaulting a 32-year-old girl in a hotel room," Ryan Sesa, a police deputy spokesman, told reporters.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested earlier on Saturday after being taken off an Air France passenger plane at a New York airport, just as the plane was preparing for take off.

He was accused of a "sex attack" on a maid at a Times Square hotel earlier in the day.

The Port Authority officers were informed by the New York Police Department, whose detectives had been investigating report of a brutal attack on a woman employee at the hotel Sofitel New York, in the heart of the city's theater district.

Strauss-Kahn was scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Sunday to discuss an aid package for debt-laden Greece.

He was then due to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels.

Strauss-Kahn is a former economics professor and was being touted as a prospective candidate for the Socialist Party in their challenge to incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy in the April 2012 French presidential election.

Married to a prominent television news reporter, Strauss-Kahn was enmeshed in a controversy after accusations arose about his sexual relationship with a senior official of the IMF's Africa Department in 2008.

The IMF is the intergovernmental organization that oversees the global financial system through the macroeconomic policies of its member countries.

'Greece may need more EU financial aid'

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179115.html

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou has warned that his country may need more hard cash support, from the European Union in particular.

“We need to plan our next steps for 2012 and 2013 so that Greece can either access markets or use the European council's recent decision that enables the European (rescue) fund to buy Greek bonds,” Papaconstantinou said, after G20-Eurozone talks in Luxembourg.

National and specialist financial media each reported that Athens may yet come calling for fresh funds from European Union bailout mechanisms, over and above the 110 billion euros ($160 billion) agreed a year ago.

Without naming its source, French business daily Les Echos said Papaconstantinou secured tacit acceptance that Greece's political backers could make another 20-25 billion available if more cuts and accelerated state sell-offs failed.

The Kathimerini daily said Athens would need "two to four years" more than planned to meet a three-percent-of-GDP EU ceiling, taking the target well beyond the electoral mandates of key partners.

Spain's unemployment rate on the rise

Unemployed people in Madrid, Spain

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173020.html

The number of people filing for and requesting unemployment benefits in Spain has gone up by 0.8 percent, raising the country's jobless rate to a new high.

The number of applicants for unemployment benefit reached 34,406, putting the number of those registered as being unemployed in Spain at 4.3, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Statistics from Spain's Labor Ministry suggest that the unemployment rate in March grew in all sectors in comparison with February.

According to the report, the service sector had the highest rate of job losses.

On the year, the number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by 167,056, or 4.01 percent.

According to the European Union, Spain's new jobless rate currently is the highest rate in the eurozone, standing at over 20 percent, which is higher than twice the European Union's average.

Greek protesters clash with police

Greek protesters are confronted with police (File photo).

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172447.html

Greek demonstrators, protesting government policies toward the medical community in the capital Athens, have clashed with riot police that used teargas to disperse them.

Doctors were accompanied by university professors, teachers, students and other people in the mass demonstration in an effort to voice discontent with the government's plan to cut spending for education and health care, IRNA reported on Thursday.

The national union of doctors in Greece declared in a statement that Wednesday protests will continue unless the government -- dominated by The Panhellenic Socialist Movement party, better known as PASOK -- reconsiders its policies.

The union also complained that the government intends to merge or reduce the number of some hospitals instead of offering support to doctors that provide minimum-cost medical service for patients.

Nurses and staffers of hospitals in other cities across the country have also said they would walk off work for 24 hours on Thursday to protest the government's economic policies.

According to the report, the Greek government has begun a policy of merging hospitals, schools and other governmental organizations in an attempt to tackle its 400-billion-euro debt. However, nationwide protests against the government's decision continue as the country struggles with a persisting economic crisis.

Earlier reports on Tuesday indicated other clashes between riot police and residents protesting the construction of a landfill in Athens.

Spain's inflation hits two-year high

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167694.html

Spain's annual inflation rate has hit a two-year high of 3.4 percent in February, painting a grim outlook for the country's frail economy.

The country's National Statistics Institute says higher food and fuel prices have pushed the inflation to its highest level since October 2008 when fuel prices were soaring. Inflation was at 3.0 percent in January this year,a PressTV correspondent reported.

"This is not good for households and is going to eat in to their income. Given wage growth is pretty subdued at the moment, it's another reason to think households and the Spanish economy will have another tricky year ahead," Capital Economics economist Ben May said.

During the second half of 2008, Spain's economy slumped into recession as the global financial meltdown compounded the collapse of the once-booming property market.

In 2010, the economy shrank by 0.1 percent and the unemployment rate reached 20.33 percent, the highest level in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to Channel NewsAsia.

As for 2011, the government forecasts an economic growth of 1.3 percent, showing greater optimism than the International Monetary Fund, which has predicted a growth of just 0.6 percent.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero predicated earlier this year that declining oil prices would ease inflation. However the recent political turmoil sweeping the Middle East and North Africa has raised crude prices, adding to fears that the inflation may be driven even higher.