Greece to miss deficit targets for 2011-12

Greece to miss deficit targets for 2011-12

ATHENS, Greece

Greece won’t meet 2011-12 deficit targets imposed by international lenders as part of the country’s bailout, the Finance Ministry said Sunday.

The country’s deficit this year is expected to reach 8.5 percent of gross domestic product, or (euro) 18.69 billion ($25.2 billion) — higher than the targeted (euro) 17.1 billion ($23.1 billion), which would have been 7.8 percent of GDP, the ministry said.

Greece has been reliant since May 2010 on regular payouts of loans from a (euro) 110 billion ($150 billion) bailout from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund. It was granted a second (euro) 109 billion package in July, but details of that deal remain to be worked out.

Energy chief defends clean-energy loans

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration’s energy chief, facing increased pressure over the failure of solar panel maker Solyndra, defended on Saturday a loan guarantee program that has provided billions of dollars for solar energy and other renewable energy projects.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said a stimulus law program that expired Friday will help develop the world’s largest wind farm in Oregon, several large solar power farms in California and Nevada, and the installation of solar panels on 750 rooftops in 28 states, among other projects.

Salmon vs. gold

JUNEAU, Alaska

The battle over a copper and gold mine near one of the world’s premier salmon fisheries is headed to the ballot in a vote that has turned a normally sleepy local election into a national environmental debate.

Voters in southwest Alaska’s Lake and Peninsula Borough are deciding whether to ban large-scale resource extraction activity, including mining, that would destroy or degrade salmon habitat. The measure is aimed squarely at Pebble Mine, the massive gold-and-copper prospect near the headwaters of Bristol Bay.

The debate surrounding Pebble has attracted the attention of chefs, Robert Redford and big-name jewelers who have vowed not to sell any gold coming from the project

But Tuesday’s vote will almost certainly not be the last word on how — or whether — the mine is built.

Associated Press