Morning briefing: Labor protests sweep across Europe
Demonstrators march down a main boulevard in Brussels. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)
1. The European Commission is proposing budget-slashing plans that it hopes will prevent another government debt crisis like the one that forced an international bailout of Greece. Anti-austerity protests erupted across Europe as Greek doctors and railway employees walked out and Spanish workers shut down trains and buses. Labor unions are organizing a protest in Brussels that they hope will be attended by 100,000 workers. The E.C. is meeting to discuss proposals to punish member states that have run up deficits, often by funding social and employment programs.
2. Tokyo threatened to take a case to the World Trade Organization if China takes discriminatory actions against Japanese companies. Traders say Beijing has told Chinese companies they can resume exports to Japan of rare earth minerals used in high-tech products.
3. Business confidence in Japan rose for the sixth straight quarter.
4. China may offer Russia's state-controlled natural-gas giant a large loan as part of a new long-term energy deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
By
Ariana Eunjung Cha
| September 29, 2010; 9:05 AM ET
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Wake up lazy lowlifes. The gravy train is over an NO ONE wants to keep supporting your smarmy @sse$ any longer.
Posted by: Bcamp55 | September 29, 2010 9:51 AM | Report abuse
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