Austerity

White House rolls back its welcome carpet for tourists

You are not welcome to tour the White House anymore! US President Barack Obama's administration announced on Tuesday that all public tours of the White House will be cancelled after Friday because of budget cuts hitting all areas of the federal government. The cancellation likely will disappoint thousands of tourists who had planned to take a tour while visiting Washington. ...  

Portuguese march against austerity, demand govt step down

Hundreds of thousands of Portuguese poured into the streets of Lisbon and other cities on Saturday to demand an end to austerity measures dictated by an international bailout and for the centre-right government to resign. ...  

Greece passes 2013 austerity budget

Athens: Greek lawmakers approved the country's 2013 austerity budget early on Monday, an essential step in Greece's efforts to persuade its international creditors to unblock a vital rescue loan installment without which the country will go bankrupt. The budget passed by a 167-128 vote in the 300-member Parliament. It came days after a separate bill of deep spending cuts and tax hikes for the next two years squeaked through with...  

Greece narrowly passes crucial austerity bill

Athens: Greece's Parliament passed a crucial austerity bill early on Thursday in a vote so close that it left the coalition government reeling from dissent. The bill, which will further slash pensions and salaries, passed 153-128 in the 300-member Parliament. It came hours after rioters rampaged outside Parliament during an 80,000-strong anti-austerity demonstration, clashing with police who responded with tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons. Approval of the cuts...  

Greece narrowly passes crucial austerity bill

Athens: Greece's Parliament narrowly passed a crucial austerity bill early Thursday, in a vote that left the coalition government reeling from dissent as it struggles to secure vital bailout funds. The bill, which will further slash pensions and salaries, passed 153-128 in the 300-member Parliament. It came hours after rioters rampaged outside Parliament during an 80,000-strong anti-austerity demonstration, clashing with riot police who responded with tear gas, stun grenades and...  

Thousands in UK join anti-austerity march

London: Thousands of protesters in London, Glasgow and Belfast on Saturday held a loud but peaceful march against British government's austerity measures aimed at slashing the nation's debt. Labour leader Ed Miliband is among dozens of speakers addressing crowds at the biggest march in London. Demonstrators want the coalition to end public service cuts and instead create policies they say can create growth. However, the government says austerity measures are...  

Spain, Greece announce harsh budget cuts

Madrid: Spain and Greece outlined plans on Thursday to cut spending and raise taxes to convince international lenders and financial markets they are on the right track to cut their deficits. The measures outlined on Thursday highlight how Europe's struggling countries are battling public anger and flat-lining economies to push for more austerity, all with the aim of securing much-needed aid. Throughout the three-year financial crisis in the 17 countries...  

K'taka: No drought of funds for MLAs' foreign trips

Bangalore: They will not be deterred by public criticism or government declarations of austerity in a time of drought. About 100 legislators, accompanied by 15 officials, are going ahead with study tours to Russia, the Scandinavian countries and South America. The bill could exceed Rs 8 crore. The necessary formalities have been completed, Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah told Express. According to official sources, the state government has given the...  

Spain unveils new austerity under pressure

Recession-plagued Spain unveiled new austerity measures on Wednesday designed to slash 65 billion euros from the public deficit by 2014 as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy yielded to EU pressure to try to avoid a full state bailout. The conservative leader announced a 3-point hike in the main rate of Value Added Tax on goods and services to 21 per cent and cuts in unemployment benefits and civil service pay and...  

Focus must be on growth more than on austerity: G20

European leaders rejected the pressure to deliver quick new measures to fight their debt crisis, even as the G20 said the focus should be on growth more than austerity. ...

Greece elections: Pro-Eurozone forces win

Athens: Fears of an imminent Greek exit from Europe's joint currency receded on Sunday after the conservative New Democracy party came first in a critical election and pro-bailout parties won enough seats to form a joint government. As central banks stood ready to intervene in case of financial turmoil, Greece held its second national election in six weeks after an inconclusive ballot on May 6. With one party advocating ripping...  

Greek exit polls: Top 2 parties neck and neck

Athens: In an election crucial for Greece, Europe and the world, exit polls on Sunday showed the two top contenders in Greece to be neck-and-neck. The outcome of Sunday's vote could determine whether Greece remains in the euro or is forced to leave the joint currency, a move that could drag down other European countries and have potentially catastrophic consequences for the global economy. The exit polls showed that the...  

World waits and watches as Greece heads to vote

A win for the Left-wing Syriza LED party would mean Greece's exit from the EU and bloodbath in the markets worldwide. ...

Nobel cuts prize money after years of overspending

Stockholm: The prize money given to Nobel laureates is to be cut by a fifth, the foundation behind the prestigious awards said on Monday, after a decade of overspending that has stretched its finances. The Nobel Foundation said the money for the awards, given for excellence in the fields of science, literature and peace, would fall to 8 million Swedish crowns ($1.12 million). The capital that forms the base for...  

Govt bans 5-star hotel meetings, foreign travel

New Delhi: Launching an austerity drive to contain expenditure, the government today banned creation of new posts in its departments and holding their meetings in five-star hotels besides imposing curbs on foreign travel. The Finance Ministry has also asked all ministries and departments to reduce non-Plan expenditure by 10 per cent in the current financial year. "There will be a total ban on holding of meetings and conferences in five-star...  

Polls: Greek's pro-austerity parties gaining

Athens: Three weeks before Greece has another election, opinion polls published on Sunday indicated the election will result in no single party gaining a majority in parliament, but two parties that favor implementing Greece's bailout programs could be able to form a coalition government. The four surveys show that Greek voters, tired of more than two years of austerity that have seen salaries and pensions cut and new taxes imposed,...  

FTN: Are Indians ready for austerity?

Politicians and bureaucrats are spending lakhs on their foreign travel. Are Indians ready for austerity? ...

Pranab's austerity mantra: No five-star meetings

New Delhi: The government may slash spending on foreign travel by ministers and officials and on meetings in five-star hotels as part of austerity measures to cut down on budget deficit. Two days after announcing in Parliament, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the first steps in that direction. This is another austerity drive from the government that is running out of ideas to the run the economy. There will...  

Pranab's austerity: Officials' foreign trips curbed

New Delhi: Two days after announcing in Parliament that India will have to tighten its belt, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has hinted at austerity measures that will be taken. Pranab said that there will soon be a ban on the purchase of new vehicles by the government departments. Interestingly, Home Minister P Chidambaram and the Home Secretary have recently purchased new official cars. Pranab also said that foreign trips by...  

Rupee hits record low; Pranab seeks austerity

Mumbai: The rupee slumped to a record low against the dollar on Wednesday as risk aversion in global markets added pressure on a currency already under fire from the country's current account and fiscal deficits. The currency's slide came just before Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said he had directed his ministry to boost efforts towards fiscal consolidation. Government spending has been a concern for financial markets and a factor pushing...