Greece upbeat on bid to exit from crisis

Greece upbeat on bid to exit from crisis

athens, greece

Debt-hobbled Greece may see a slightly milder than expected recession this year and aims to issue bonds again on international markets in 2011, the finance minister said Monday.

George Papaconstantinou said efforts to slash the gaping budget deficit from 13.6 in 2009 to 8.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 remain on track. Greece is committed to bringing the deficit to under 3 percent of annual output in 2014.

Mercedes-Benz sales up 13 percent

berlin

Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars were up 13.2 percent in the year through June as strong demand for the premium brand in China and the United States helped drive growth, parent company Daimler AG said Monday.

Mercedes-Benz sold 113,300 cars worldwide last month, making it the best June performance in its history, Daimler said.

The premium brand’s sales in China were up 177 percent last month to 13,700 cars, U.S. sales were up 20.5 percent to 18,300, and sales in Japan gained 26.5 percent compared with June last year to reach 3,400.

Cow illness worries Kobe beef farmers

kobe, japan

Prized for its tender, marbled texture and succulent flavor, Kobe beef is a delicacy that can cost $200 for a slab of steak at some Japanese restaurants.

But cattle farmers near the central city of Kobe are worried an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki, another key beef-raising region that often supplies calves to Kobe breeders, could spread to them as well — and impact Japan’s premium beef market for years to come.

The disease broke out about two months ago in Miyazaki, on the southern island of Kyushu. To keep it from spreading, more than 270,000 animals were destroyed. So far, the outbreak appears to have been contained, and no cows in the Kobe region have been found infected.

Strike over fuel prices hits India

new delhi

Transportation ground to a halt and businesses were closed in many parts of India on Monday as the main opposition parties led a strike to protest a government- imposed increase in fuel prices.

Train and air services were affected in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital, where taxis went off the roads as protesters belonging to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena came out on the streets.

Vindicator wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .58, 17.56 .08

Avalon Holdings,2.45—.06

Clear Channel, 1.75 44.59.83

Cortland Bancorp, 4.60—.20

Delphi Automotive, .0211 0.00

Farmers Nat., .12, 3.76 —.34

First Energy, $2.20, 34.69—.36

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.73 —.25

First Niles Financial,6.96—1.79

First Place Fin., 2.87—.09

FNB Corp., .48,7.88—.07

General Electric, .40,13.88—.24

Motors Liquidation, .4135—.0015

Huntington Bank, .04, 5.34—.09

JP Morgan Chase, .20,35.83—.25

Key Corp, .04,7.22—.15

LaFarge, 12.82—.27

Macy’s, .20, 17.85—.48

Parker Hannifin, 1.04, 55.02—.21

PNC, .40,55.67—.65

RTI Intl. Metals,23.53—.28

Rural/Metro, 8.01 —.28

Simon Prop. Grp.,$2.40,79.08—.197

Stoneridge 7.16 —.16

Torent Inc., 2.00 0.00

United Community Fin. 1.63.0101

Selected prices at 4 p.m. Friday. Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security. The market was closed Monday for the July Fourth holiday.