The chief negotiator for private investors on a writedown of Greek sovereign bonds will meet Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on Thursday, sources close to the Greek side said. Dallara's visit, announced by the IIF, was confirmed by government sources but not his agenda of meetings. Venizelos later said that discussions with the private sector had "advanced and are now at a very good point. We are ready for a next meeting, maybe tomorrow morning, with our friend, Charles Dallara, from IIF". "I would like to think that with the support of our institutional partners, this scheme will be completed and will confirm to the basic parameters and the keystone objective of the EU Council decision of October 26 for a sustainable public debt in the long run." Greece and private investors, mostly banks, are -- according to EU officials -- near a deal on a debt writedown of at least 50 per cent in order to reduce the country's debt by 100 billion euros ($127 billion), a precondition for … [Read more...] about Chief bank negotiator to meet Greek PM Thursday
Banks will be closed tomorrow
Central banks have to play ‘party poopers’
Nguyen Van Giau sighs audibly and shifts in his chair when I ask him the dreaded question: Is Vietnam losing its inflation battle? Customers leave a jewelry shop in downtown Hanoi. Vietnam's gold prices have risen around 33 percent over the past year. … [Read more...] about Central banks have to play ‘party poopers’
Central bank will not renew interest rate cap
The 12 percent deposit interest rate cap will be effectively dissolved tomorrow when the State Bank of Vietnam increases its base interest rate from 8.75 percent to 12 percent per year. The state lender has decided not renew its 12 percent cap, allowing commercial banks to set their interest rates on both loans and deposits at up to 150 percent of the new benchmark rate, which means that banks could offer deposit interest rates of up to 18 percent per year. … [Read more...] about Central bank will not renew interest rate cap
Tomorrow calls
The introduction of 3G technology next month is set to change Vietnam's mobile phone landscape, writes Ms Asha Phillips, Marketing and Communications Manager with the Nielsen Company in Vietnam. The highly anticipated Third Generation, or 3G, technology, which is expected to be up-and-running in Vietnam in June, will supply hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people with high-speed, high-tech mobile phone services and will likely increase Vietnam's mobile ownership and reach. But it will also provide marketers and advertisers in Vietnam with a new channel to reach consumers. … [Read more...] about Tomorrow calls
Gaddafi to be buried in secret desert grave: NTC
Ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will be buried on Tuesday in a secret desert grave, a National Transitional Council official said, ending a wrangle over his rotting corpse that led many to fear for Libya's governability. Anti-Gaddafi fighters gesture to the crowds in front of a giant Kingdom of Libya flag during celebrations for the liberation of Libya in Quiche, Benghazi October 23, 2011.Photo: Reuters With their Western allies uneasy that Gaddafi was battered and shot after his capture on Thursday, rebels had put the body on show in a cold store while they argued over what to do with it, until its decay forced them on Monday to close the doors. "He will be buried tomorrow in a simple burial with sheikhs attending the burial. It will be an unknown location in the open desert," the official told Reuters by telephone, adding that the decomposition of the body had reached the point where the "corpse cannot last any longer." The … [Read more...] about Gaddafi to be buried in secret desert grave: NTC