Greece seals sketchy coalition deal (Reuters)

ATHENS (Reuters) ? Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou sealed a deal with the opposition on a crisis coalition to approve an international bailout, but details remain thin despite an EU ultimatum for Athens to get serious about tackling its huge problems.

With Greece due to run out of money in a few weeks, the European Union told its bickering parties to explain by Monday evening how they would form a unity government to enact the 130 billion euro ($179 billion) emergency funding package.

Papandreou, who sealed his fate last week with a disastrous attempt to call a referendum on the bailout, will stand down when the new government takes over, the office of the Greek president said.

But otherwise he and conservative leader Antonis Samaras came up with the bare minimum to satisfy Brussels, and they must still agree on Monday who becomes the next prime minister to lead a nation which is destabilizing the entire euro zone.

Papandreou's side trumpeted the agreement, reached late on Sunday at talks led by President Karolos Papoulias. "Today was a historic day for Greece," government spokesman Ilias Mossialos said, adding that the new coalition would be sworn in and hold a confidence vote within a week, if all went to plan.

Others were less charitable. "I'm afraid the new government will very soon turn out to be problematic," said Stefanos Manos, a former conservative finance minister.

A SUITABLE DATE

The new coalition has to win parliamentary approval for the bailout before calling early elections.

Papandreou's socialist PASOK party and the New Democracy party of Samaras agreed early on Monday that the most suitable date for the elections would be February 19 next year.

Brussels has piled pressure on Athens to approve the bailout, a last financial lifeline for Greece, fearing that its crisis will spill into much bigger euro zone economies such as Italy and Spain -- which would be far harder to rescue.

Papandreou and Samaras had been scrambling to reach a deal before finance ministers of euro countries meet in Brussels on Monday evening, to show that Greece is serious about taking steps needed to stave off bankruptcy.

Earlier, European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told Reuters that finance ministers from countries that use the single currency would insist on hearing a plan for a unity government from their Greek colleague Evangelos Venizelos at Monday's Eurogroup meeting.

"We have called for a national unity government and remain persuaded that it is the convincing way of restoring confidence and meeting the commitments," he told Reuters. "We need a convincing report on this by Finance Minister Venizelos tomorrow in the Eurogroup."

Papandreou had sought the referendum to show that harsh cuts demanded in the bailout had public support, but the risk that a "no" vote could bring about a sudden bankruptcy caused mayhem in markets and unrest in the ruling party.

He soon ditched the idea and won a confidence vote in parliament, but only after promising to make way for the national unity coalition.

BACK SEAT DRIVING

The coalition deal is unlikely to calm Greek politics.

Whoever becomes prime minister will struggle to exert their authority as the party leaders run things behind the scenes, Manos told Reuters. "The civil service won't implement any decision and everyone will be waiting for the election."

Papandreou and Samaras -- who were once U.S. college room mates -- had to bury their deep differences and personal animosity, as Greece is deep in economic, political and social crisis, its future in the euro zone is in question, and their reputations among ordinary Greeks are at rock bottom.

"The two leaders had no other choice. If elections were held now, nobody would turn out to vote for them," said Elias Nikolakopoulos, political science professor at Athens University.

Many Greeks, who have suffered pay and pension cuts and massive job losses in the past two years, remained distrustful about politicians of all colors.

"Elections won't solve any of our problems now. These parties don't represent us anymore," said Michalis Skevofylakas, 47, a teacher.

Papandreou and Samaras are due to discuss on Monday morning who will be the new prime minister. Greek media tipped Lucas Papademos, a former deputy president of the European Central Bank, as a possible candidate.

President Papoulias, who led the talks that produced Sunday's deal, will summon the head of all leading parties for more negotiations at 1800 GMT on Monday.

(Additional reporting by Rene Maltezou and Dina Kyriakidou; Writing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111107/wl_nm/us_greece

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Former general leads polls for Guatemala president (AP)

GUATEMALA CITY ? Guatemalans rattled by soaring violence choose Sunday between two right-leaning presidential candidates: a former general who promises law and order and a tycoon-turned-political populist whose proposals include more social programs and zero tolerance on crime.

Polls show Otto Perez Molina, 61, a retired general and former military intelligence director running for the right-wing Patriotic Party, at least 10 to 15 points ahead of Manuel Baldizon, 41, of the Democratic Freedom Revival party.

Perez and Baldizon are in a runoff after gaining the most votes in the Sept. 11 presidential election, which Perez also won, but not by the required outright majority to for a first-round victory.

But some analysts say there's a disconnect between polls, believed to favor the establishment candidate Perez, and what is really a tight race.

"The polling methods are inadequate," said former Foreign Minister Edgar Gutierrez, who runs a think tank in Guatemala. "They've failed to capture how between 25 and 30 percent of the people intend to vote."

Baldizon barely registered in the polls when campaigning began six months ago and has risen dramatically since. The businessman has made many promises that some considered outlandish, including that he would take Guatemala's soccer team to the World Cup. But other promises are appealing in a country with rampant poverty and crime, including giving workers an extra month's salary a year, reinstating the death penalty and televising executions.

More than half of Guatemalans live in poverty in a nation 14 million overrun by organized crime and Mexican drug cartels. President Alvaro Colom has had to send troops to retake some provinces from the Zetas drug gang, including Baldizon's home state of Peten bordering Mexico.

Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in the world, a product of gang and cartel violence, along with the legacy of its 1960-1996 civil war in which the army, police and paramilitary are blamed for killed the vast majority of 200,000 victims ? most of whom were Mayan.

Perez would be the first former military leader elected president in Guatemala 25 years after the end of brutal military rule. While that concerns some international groups, Guatemala has a young population and many don't remember the war.

Witnesses say hundreds of villages were obliterated by the army's scorched-earth policy. Perez has said there were no massacres or genocide.

He has never been charged with any atrocities and was one of the army's chief representatives in negotiating the 1996 peace accords.

Perez's campaigning focused on fighting the street gangs and cartels. Both candidates lean to the right after the center-left party of Colom failed to field a candidate. Colom cannot run for re-election.

Perez narrowly lost four years ago to Colom, a leftist who promised to fight crime with social programs, but whom many considered weak. Guatemalans have a history of electing the runner-up in the next presidential election since democracy was restored in 1986, and many feel that it is now Perez's turn after his previous defeat.

The wild card has been the sudden popularity of Baldizon, who the traditional ruling class in Guatemala has painted as inept.

One of his more surprising supporters is the left-leaning Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu, who ran for president but barely had a showing. She urged her supporters, mainly Guatemala's indigenous and poor, to vote for Baldizon. Many say the rural poor will simply choose not to vote, and a low turnout favors Perez.

"No vote is a vote for the past," she said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111106/ap_on_bi_ge/lt_guatemala_election

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"Bones" return wins nightly TV ratings for Fox (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) ? The return of "Bones" on Fox Thursday night enjoyed a 22 percent leap over last year's season premiere, helping to push Fox to an overall ratings win, while CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" retained its ratings dominance during a night that saw improvements pretty much across the board, according to preliminary numbers.

Fox started the night with "The X Factor" at 8 p.m., which received a 3.6 rating/10 share in the adults 18-49 demographic and 11.2 million total viewers. The "Bones" premiere followed, which grew 22 percent to a 2.7/6 and 10 million total viewers. Combined, the two shows nabbed Fox an average 3.4/9, the highest rating of the evening, and 10.6 million total viewers.

"The Big Bang Theory" on CBS at 8 p.m. grew 11 percent from last week, taking the night's top ratings with a 5.1/15 in the demographic and 15.4 million total viewers, making it the most-watched program of the night. "Rules of Engagement" followed at 8:30 p.m, growing 12 percent to a 3.7/10, with 11.9 million total viewers. "Person of Interest" at 9 p.m. was flat with last week, taking a 2.7/7 and 11.6 million total viewers, while "The Mentalist" finished the night at 10 p.m. with a 16 percent boost for a 2.9/8 and 13.4 million total viewers. Overall, CBS was the most-watched network of the night, with an average 12.9 million total viewers.

ABC started the night by continuing to burn off the remaining episodes of the recently canceled "Charlie's Angels." "Angels" at 8 p.m., performed flat with last week, taking a 1.2/3 in the demographic with 5.3 million total viewers. "Grey's Anatomy" followed at 9 p.m, declining 5 percent for a 3.5/9 and 9.2 million total viewers. "Private Practice" closed the night at 10 p.m, inching up 8 percent for a 2.6/7 and 6.7 million total viewers.

NBC enjoyed growth throughout the evening, starting with "Community" at 8 p.m, which grew 21 percent for a 1.7/5 and 3.8 million total viewers. "Parks and Recreation" at 8:30 p.m., was also up, 11 percent, receiving a 2.0/6 in the demographic and 3.9 million total viewers, while "The Office" at 9 experienced a modest improvement, taking a 3.1/8 in the demo and 6 million total viewers. "Whitney" at 9 p.m., had a 5 percent uptick, taking a 2.1/5 in the demographic and 4.3 million total viewers, while the recently ailing "Prime Suspect" closed the night at 10 p.m., with a 9 percent improvement over last week., taking a 1.2/3 in the demographic and 4.4 million total viewers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111104/media_nm/us_ratings

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Beijing's rolling out city wide 'free' public WiFi, just hand over your phone number

Heads-up, locals: China's Mobile, Unicom and Telecom carriers are building a city-wide public WiFi network across Beijing. Residents will enjoy free 2Mbps internet for up to three years, if they sign up to the "My Beijing" service. Like most things that are gratis, there's a catch: you have to submit your phone number in exchange for access. Privacy enthusiasts aren't thrilled at the idea, (you know, since it's backed by the Government), though a representative said that the numbers would only be used for "identity authentication" -- insinuating that they would only be tracing individuals whose online activity might "endanger social security." High-minded privacy concerns aside, there's the very real danger of phones being bombarded with spam, not to mention what happens when the three year trial period expires -- users of the service could get stung with exorbitant costs to feed a public WiFi addiction.

Beijing's rolling out city wide 'free' public WiFi, just hand over your phone number originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freddie Mac reports Q3 loss, asks for $6B in aid

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Government-controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac has requested $6 billion in additional aid after posting a wider loss in the third quarter.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that it lost $6 billion, or $1.86 per share, in the July-September quarter. That compares with a loss of $4.1 billion, or $1.25 a share, in the same quarter of 2010.

The government rescued McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae in September 2008 after massive losses on risky mortgages threatened to topple them. Since then, a federal regulator has controlled their financial decisions.

Taxpayers have spent about $169 billion to rescue Fannie and Freddie, the most expensive bailout of the 2008 financial crisis. The government estimates it will cost at least $51 billion more to support the companies through 2014, and as much as $142 billion in the most extreme case.

Freddie and Washington-based Fannie own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million home loans worth more than $5 trillion. Along with other federal agencies, they backed nearly 90 percent of new mortgages over the past year.

The two mortgage giants buy home loans from banks and other lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default, and then sell them to investors around the world. When property values drop, homeowners default ? either because they are unable to afford the payments or because they owe more than the property is worth. Because of the guarantees, Fannie and Freddie must pay for the losses.

Fewer foreclosures and delays in foreclosure processing because of a yearlong government investigation into mortgage lending practices have reduced the companies' projected losses.

Fannie and Freddie are required to pay 10 percent dividends on the government money they receive. Freddie paid $1.6 billion in dividends to the Treasury Department in the July-September quarter.

Pressure continues on the government to eliminate Fannie and Freddie and reduce taxpayers' exposure to risk. The Treasury Department put forward a plan in February to slowly dissolve Fannie and Freddie, although that process could take years. Abolishing Fannie and Freddie would transform how homes are bought and redefine who can afford them.

Associated Press

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Groupon shares surge but concerns linger (Reuters)

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Shares of Groupon Inc surged as much as 56 percent on Friday, a solid debut aided by a small number of shares sold, yet still fell short of the first-day performances of recent Internet IPOs.

Groupon's stock closed up 31 percent but the first day pop paled in comparison to LinkedIn, the professional social network that went public in May, whose shares doubled in their debut. Real estate website Zillow also nearly doubled in its debut in July.

Groupon sells Internet coupons for everything from spa treatments to nose jobs and is one of this year's most closely watched IPOs. It has won plaudits for its phenomenal growth, but its ability to sustain that expansion in the face of intense competition from the likes of Google Inc has been questioned.

Still, a strong first few trading days could help other private Web companies -- such as Angie's List, social gaming firm Zynga and even Facebook -- pursue their own IPOs.

Groupon's offering, the largest by a U.S. Internet company since Google's in 2004, is the first major IPO since the market descended into a slump in August. There remains a huge backlog of companies that filed to go public earlier this year, then put their plans on hold.

"They wanted to have a decent pop on the stock so they didn't take that much public," said David Berman, a consumer technology and retail specialist at hedge fund firm Durban Capital. "They created demand by limiting supply, and they got the pop."

After a grueling year of preparing for the IPO, Chief Executive Andrew Mason -- now worth $1.2 billion with ownership of over 46 million shares -- and Chairman Eric Lefkofsky rang the opening bell on the Nasdaq, then hugged in Times Square.

Dozens of people involved in the IPO -- including bankers, investors, current and former employees -- painted a picture of the excruciating path the three-year-old Web phenom took to become the first daily deals site to go public in the United States.

"We continue to be concerned about Groupon's model, especially given the low barrier for entry into this space," said Michael Yoshikami, head of money-management firm YCMNET Investment Committee. "But it's a familiar name and investors tend to gravitate to familiar names at first."

The shares rose as high as $31.14, or 56 percent above the IPO price, at one point pushing the market value of the company to $19.9 billion. They closed at $26.11, 31 percent above their $20 IPO price and granting Groupon a value of $16.7 billion.

CRACKLE AND POP

Groupon put up the third-highest trading volume on the Nasdaq Friday, with nearly 50 million shares changing hands.

A spokeswoman for Deutsche Boerse AG's International Securities Exchange said it expects to list options on Groupon on November 14, with other major exchanges expected to follow suit. Options can be used to bet on the direction of stocks, or to hedge stock positions.

Groupon was founded in October 2008 and has never been profitable. In the nine months ended September 30, it posted a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $308.1 million on revenue of $1.1 billion.

Employees at company headquarters in Chicago donned lime green T-shirts emblazoned with the company's ticker symbol "GRPN" printed in old, ticker-tape-style lettering.

Some analysts and investors warn that Groupon's early surge could be a short-term phenomenon and its shares could reverse course and trade down like those of Internet radio station Pandora Media Inc.

There are still lingering questions about Groupon's business model and about competition from better-funded rivals such as Amazon.com Inc and Google.

Groupon has lost two chief operating officers in the past year and had to adjust its accounting twice under regulatory pressure.

Still, a small float helped drum up demand.

On Thursday, Groupon upsized its IPO and sold 35 million shares for $20 each. But that stake amounts to only about 5 percent of the company. Underwriters on the IPO were led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse.

The $700 million raised was on the larger side for a U.S. IPO, but the 5.5 percent represented the second-smallest share float in the United States in the past decade, according to capital markets data provider Ipreo.

"There's a lot of excitement around the shares. But we should put this in context. The company sold 35 million shares and almost 29 million traded in less than an hour," Morningstar analyst Rick Summer said. That suggested heavy "flipping", or investors selling stock they got in the IPO.

"We don't think they can have 50 percent growth and make money at the same time," Summer said. "They have to pay to launch new categories, get new merchants and new customers. They have to spend to grow."

(Reporting by Clare Baldwin, Brendan McDermid, Rodrigo Campos, Edward Krudy and Phil Wahba in New York, Alistair Barr in San Francisco and James Kelleher and Doris Frankel in Chicago; editing by Derek Caney, Gerald E. McCormick, Steve Orlofsky, Andre Grenon and Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111105/bs_nm/us_groupon_finalpricing

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Occupy protesters disavow Oakland violence

An Occupy protester shows peace signs to Oakland Police officers in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

An Occupy protester shows peace signs to Oakland Police officers in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Occupy Oakland protester Mike Clift runs from teargas on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Following a mainly peaceful day-long protest by thousands of anti-Wall Street demonstrators, several hundred rallied through the night with some painting graffiti, breaking windows and setting file to garbage cans. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Occupy Oakland protesters pass a burning garbage heap during a confrontation with police on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Following a mainly peaceful day-long protest by thousands of anti-Wall Street demonstrators, several hundred rallied through the night with some painting graffiti, breaking windows and setting file to garbage cans. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

(AP) ? Occupy Wall Street protesters had just a few hours to celebrate what they saw as their biggest victory so far: the peaceful shutdown of the nation's fifth-busiest port. Then the rioting began.

A day after some protesters clashed with riot police, set fires and shattered windows in Oakland, Calif., demonstrators across the country condemned the violence and wondered whether it was a turn that would destroy their cause.

"They don't speak for the majority of people who were here yesterday," said Hadas Alterman, a college student who was gathering trash at a tent camp near Oakland City Hall. "That was an hour of action, and we were out here for 12 hours and it was peaceful."

The protest outside the port, which reopened Thursday, represented an escalation in tactics as demonstrators targeted a major symbol of the nation's commerce with peaceful rallies and sit-ins.

The violence that followed, however, raised questions about whether a movement with no organizational structure and no high-profile leaders can do anything to stop those they called troublemakers.

So far, few cities have reached the level of Oakland, a unique place with a long history of tensions between residents and police.

Bob Norkus at the Occupy Boston camp said the riots didn't represent the broader movement and likely wouldn't have a lasting effect on it, either. The movement is still evolving and mistakes are inevitable, he said.

It "has to be nonviolent, or else it will just end. We won't get the support," he said. "It doesn't mean you can't agitate people. But you can't also be breaking windows and burning."

Police in riot gear arrested more than 80 protesters in downtown Oakland, where bands of masked protesters took over a vacant building, erected roadblocks and threw chunks of concrete and firebombs. Five people and several officers were injured.

Chris Hedges, who demonstrating at Goldman Sachs' headquarters in New York, said the clashes in Oakland are a reminder to protesters that they should only respond peacefully to police actions.

"It's awful. But police want people to break windows and set cars on fire, because it's the kind of thing they know how to master ? with force," he said before being led quietly away in handcuffs.

Raymon Curtis, who was protesting in Portland, Ore., said he doesn't believe the police in his city are seeking violence.

"I looked in their eyes and at first I thought it was a hard look," Curtis said. "Then, I realized it was the same look I had when I went to prison for the first time. They're terrified."

Some protesters said violence can bring attention to the cause.

"This thing has to escalate so people see the violence and who is protecting the interests of the corporations," said Denver protester Dwayne Hudson, standing next to a grill with logs burning over charcoal to stay warm after a snowstorm.

The far-flung movement challenging the world's economic systems and distribution of wealth has gained momentum in recent weeks, with Oakland becoming a rallying point after an Iraq War veteran was injured in clashes with police last week.

Organizers called for a general strike on Wednesday, and supporters in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and elsewhere held smaller-scale demonstrations, some in solidarity with their Oakland counterparts.

Protesters in Oakland and in other cities viewed the day's events and the port shutdown as a significant victory.

Police, who had little to no presence during the protest during the day, said about 7,000 people participated in largely peaceful demonstrations. There were a few incidents of vandalism at local banks and businesses.

An accounting of the financial toll from the port shutdown was not immediately available.

A protest organizer in Chicago, Joshua Kaunert, said the shutdown was an "amazing" event for the movement, but didn't want to speculate on what effect the violence would have. He said the lack of a formal leadership structure ? and the emphasis on what he called a "true, direct democracy" ? makes it difficult to weed out potential troublemakers.

"As a movement, it is definitely hard to keep that kind of element away, but that's a double-edged sword," Kaunert said. "If you want true, direct democracy, you're going to have issues, regardless."

The movement's tent camps in public parks have drawn all types of people, including the homeless, families and anarchists.

At the Oakland encampment, Hale Nicholson, who described himself and others as pacifists, said he participated in Wednesday's demonstration and march to the port and then went to sleep at the camp around 9:30 p.m. Around 1 a.m., he said, he was awakened by the sound of flash-bang grenades.

A group of protesters broke into the former Travelers Aid building in order to, as some shouting protesters put it, "reclaim the building for the people." They voiced anger over budget cuts that forced the closure of a homeless aid program.

They blocked off a street with wood, metal Dumpsters and other large trash bins, sparking bonfires that leapt as high as 15 feet in the air. Several businesses were heavily vandalized. Dozens of protesters wielding shields were surrounded and arrested.

Police said they used tear gas and beanbags to disperse the crowd.

Brenda Jamison, a mother of four who lives downtown, watched the disturbance from her window, and prayed for it to stop. She said the police acted appropriately when they tried to separate the disruptive protesters causing damage from the peaceful masses.

"I don't feel like I'm home," she said. "It's not an issue of black and white. You just have these people who come out looking for an excuse to tear up everything. It's not right."

Protesters and police then faced off in an uneasy standoff until the wee hours of the morning.

It is the kind of posture that Oakland is familiar with, with clashes erupting during the 1960s-era protests over the Vietnam War and the draft, among other issues. More recently, in 2009 and 2010, the city was the scene of violent demonstrations over the killing of an unarmed black man by a white transit officer. Downtown businesses were looted, windows smashed and fires set.

Then, as now, police blamed the violence on a small group of anarchists, many from outside the city.

Officials said 18 windows were broken in the area of the violence. About two dozen businesses had damaged storefronts. Most of them were chain stores, including Burger King and Foot Locker.

People who participated in the daytime protests returned to help sweep up debris and scrub off graffiti.

Shari Rivers, the manager of a Tully's Coffee located on the city hall plaza, was busy cleaning up Thursday morning after protesters broke windows, stole some property and knocked over the cash register overnight.

"I cried. It's very disheartening. I am part of the 99 percent and have supported this movement," she said, adding that she blamed the city for letting the protest get out of hand. She added, "This shouldn't happen in a U.S. city."

___

Associated Press writers Justin Juozapavicius in Tulsa, Okla., Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco, Terry Collins and Haven Daley in Oakland, Calif., Nigel Duara in Portland, Ore., Ivan Moreno in Denver, Jay Lindsay in Boston, Verena Dobnik in New York and Christina Hoag in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-03-Occupy%20Marches/id-f0aced0e642f4b2ebc2d4e1561324066

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Europe leaders summon Greek PM to explain himself (AP)

CANNES, France ? Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was flying to the chic French Riviera resort of Cannes on Wednesday to explain himself to European leaders furious over his surprise referendum on a bailout deal that took them months to work out.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and top European Union officials arrived at the Palais des Festivals, site of Cannes' famous film festival, for private talks ahead of their meeting with Papandreou, scheduled for 19.30 GMT.

The pledge to hold a referendum has riled financial markets and threatens to derail a debt crisis plan that's not even a week old. A "no" vote in the referendum could lead to a disorderly Greek default and force Greece from the euro, toppling fragile banks and sending the global economy spinning back into recession.

Even scheduling the vote could scuttle pending payouts of bailout money Greece needs to avoid default. And the wait is ramping up the pressure on Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, whose debts are enormous but which is considered too big to be bailed out.

The fates of some of the G-20 leaders could well hinge on how Papandreou's gamble works out, and hence how their own economies fare. For example, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. President Barack Obama both face potentially tough re-election battles within the year.

Sarkozy had hoped that the meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations, which runs Thursday and Friday, was going to be Europe's opportunity to tell the rest of the world that a comprehensive plan to deal with the debt crisis had finally been reached after nearly two years of half-measures, indecision and procrastination.

Papandreou's gambit put an end to that lofty ambition.

Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel summoned Papandreou to the meeting on the Cote d'Azur and will continue to insist that the euro130 billion ($177 billion) deal thrashed out last week remains "the only possible way" to sort out Europe's Greek problem.

"Germany and the entire international community are striving to deal in solidarity and responsibly with Greece, but there is also a responsibility on Greece's part toward its European partners," German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in Berlin.

"Countries in Europe ? particularly the countries in the eurozone ? are so closely integrated that every serious decision in one capital has effects on the other countries."

The head of the global banking lobby that negotiated the debt reduction deal pressured the Greeks to accept the deal.

"It is important for the Greek people to understand that the hardships of the last 18 months are more likely to moderate with the package than in absence of it," Charles Dallara, managing director of the Institute of International Finance, said in a conference call from Washington D.C.

Papandreou meets his peers just hours after winning the support of his Cabinet in a marathon meeting. He has said his hope is that a referendum will lock a restless and disgruntled country into continuing with its reforms that are widely seen as necessary if Greece is to have a sustainable future. Some 20 months of harsh austerity have angered most Greeks, with unions staging a seemingly unending wave of strikes and protest marches many of which have degenerated into riots.

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned that a failure by Greeks to stick to last week's agreement would have unknown consequences.

"Without the agreement of Greece top the EU/IMF program, the conditions for Greek citizens would become much more painful, in particular for the most vulnerable," Barroso said in a statement after arriving in Cannes. "The consequences would be impossible to foresee."

Papandreou will try to convince his European peers that the referendum is needed. He said it "will be a clear mandate, and a clear message within and outside of Greece, about our European course and our participation in the euro."

At one stage on Tuesday, following a rebellion among his governing Socialist lawmakers, Papandreou's government looked in danger. And he's not out of the woods yet: His government faces a confidence vote on Friday and his Socialists only have a two-seat majority.

Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said a quick referendum is the only way ? other than early elections ? to limit the damage, a sentiment which will be echoed by Sarkozy, according a French official speaking on condition of anonymity..

"If we had to go through Christmas and the New Year waiting for the Greeks to make a decision, it would make things even more chaotic," Noonan said.

Greek Interior Minister Haris Kastanidis said Wednesday that the referendum could be held in December.

Already, the uncertainty surrounding the referendum is causing a delay in implementing the euro rescue plan.

The head of Germany's banking association, Michael Kemmer, said the planned bond swap by which banks will take a voluntary 50 percent cut in their Greek debt holdings will have to wait until after the referendum, if it takes place.

Kemmer says banks stand by the deal, but that the planned exchange can only happen when the Greek government makes a formal offer, and that doesn't make sense until after the referendum results are in.

The IIF's Dallara said he's confident a large majority of the banks and other investors represented by the IIF would sign on to the Greek debt reduction plan. He noted, however, that his organization doesn't represent all private holders of Greek debt.

The Oct. 27 bailout deal would require banks holding Greek government bonds to accept 50 percent losses and provide Greece with about $140 billion in rescue loans from European nations and the IMF. Greece has been relying on bailout loans since May 2010 to avoid bankruptcy.

European officials appear to be biding their time on whether Greece will get its hands on the next batch of bailout funds, worth euro8 billion ($10.9 billion), which had already been approved for payment sometime in November. German Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Kotthaus noted that Greece has "no acute need for payments until about the middle of December."

Meanwhile, Greece's European partners are suffering the consequences of the renewed uncertainty.

The yield on Italy's ten-year bonds ? a gauge of market concern ? rose from Tuesday's close to 6.18 percent. Though that's still below the 6.33 percent high hit at one point on Tuesday, it's still uncomfortably close to the levels that prompted Greece, Portugal and Ireland to seek financial bailouts.

____

Sylvie Corbet in Cannes, Nicholas Paphitis and Theodora Tongas in Athens, Angela Charlton in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111102/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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Did Johnny Depp almost die in plane mishap?

It seems we hear rumors almost daily that some celebrity has met his maker ? usually either snowboarding in Switzerland (see Luke Perry, Adam Sandler, Owen Wilson) or falling off a cliff in New Zealand (we're looking at you Jeff Goldblum and Brad Pitt).

Usually, we can chalk that up to the infamous Global Associated News, which generates fake death stories that spread like wildfire on the Web.

But when it comes to a recent report about Johnny Depp, was the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star really this close to being a dead man?

E! News investigated, and the answer is...

MORE: Hoaxing 101: How to Fake a Celebrity Death

So true! (If you ask Johnny, that is.)

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the 48-year-old thesp feared for his life when he and "Rum Diary" director Bruce Robinson were flying to Los Angeles on a private jet and the engines cut out unexpectedly.

At that moment in a surreal scene straight out of a movie, both looked at each other in terror, thinking the same thing.

Slideshow: Johnny Depp's life and times (on this page)

"The plane just shut down. The sound of the engines stopped. There was silence," the paper quotes Depp as telling (the aptly titled) Live magazine. "Bruce and I were looking at each other and I think I said, 'Is this it?' It was like this weird extended moment when you're just floating for a second and you could feel this unpleasant descent."

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"Nobody said a word except for Bruce and I, sitting next to each other saying, 'Oh s--t! This is death; I guess this is how it goes down,'" he said. "Then we burst into hysterical laughter at the idea that this was how we were going to die."

Luckily, the Ninth Gate this wasn't. The engines restarted in the nick of time and the plane continued on its way, but not before leaving a relieved Depp and Robinson sharing a special something.

Story: Depp drinks his way through Puerto Rico in 'Rum Diary'

"Suddenly the engines started back up again and we were climbing back up," remembered Depp. "I guess you say that was a big bonding experience for Bruce and me. For a moment there, we were going down together."

Speaking for all Depp fans, we're happy to hear Johnny's alive and well.

PICS: Alive &Kicking: Celebrity Death Hoaxes

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45134545/ns/today-entertainment/

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T.I. And Young Jeezy Get 'Honest' About 'F.A.M.E.'

'The song to me meant a lot, because I don't normally talk about how I feel and what's going on in my world,' Jeezy tells MTV News on video set.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by James Smith


T.I. and Young Jeezy
Photo: Chris McKay/ Getty Images

Sometimes the fame can be too much — just ask Young Jeezy and T.I.

On the Snowman's new J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-produced single "F.A.M.E.," he and Tip expound on the pressures of being in the limelight. "I wanted to let them know 'Fake-Ass Mother----ers Envy,' because they really do, and I just wanted to go in like that," Jeezy told MTV News on the set for the song's video in Atlanta over the weekend.

In his first verse, Jeezy addresses the constant delays of his TM 103 album when he spits, "I bet you feel like the whole world hatin' on you/ Well what's the holdup? The whole world waitin' on you."

For Jeezy, the single is a departure from his usual trap-based material. "The song to me meant a lot, because I don't normally talk about how I feel and what's going on in my world," he said.

T.I. has been going through his own trials and tribulations. In September, he was released from prison after violating his probation in 2010. Tip used "F.A.M.E." as a conduit to address his innermost feelings. "Another year in prison, promise this is it for me/ Tryna make it through the storm, should be makin' history," he rhymed.

"It's an honest interpretation of where I am mentally and how I feel about others volunteering their opinion on my circumstances without having full knowledge," T.I. said of his verse. "I felt that it was appropriate when I listened to it. It musically said everything that I wanted to say verbally."

What are you expecting from the "F.A.M.E." video? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1673589/ti-young-jeezy-fame.jhtml

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