Finance news. My opinion.

Greek debt talks are said to be progressing but officials have yet to announce a deal to scale back the nation’s overwhelming debt load.

Negotiations between the government and experts representing the private banks and investors that hold Greek debt — the Institute of International Finance — have been ongoing since last Wednesday.

But the outcome still remains uncertain ahead of a key two-day meeting of eurozone finance officials that starts Monday.

The lead negotiators from the IIF, Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre, left Athens Saturday to attend "long-standing personal appointments" in Paris, according to a statement.

In a statement, Dallara stressed that progress has been made over the last few days and that the "elements" of a deal "are coming into place."

"Now is the time to act decisively and seize the opportunity to finalize this historic deal and contribute to the economic stability of Greece, the euro area and the world economy," said Dallara.

The IIF also said Dallara and Lemierre are available to Greek officials by phone "should this be necessary."

The lure to leave the euro may prove irresistible

At issue is an agreement to reduce Greece’s debt load by writing down the value of Greek bonds owned by the private sector by 50%.

In addition to the writedown, the deal is expected to include a debt exchange, in which investors would swap Greek bonds for new 30-year securities with an interest rate, or coupon, of about 4%.

The exchange could result in "real" losses of up to 70% for the private sector.

But it could also ease the burden on the Greek government as it struggles under a massive €350 billion pile of debt and a deepening recession.

The talks have been hindered by disagreements over the terms of the debt exchange and signs the participation rate may fall short of expectations.

The stipulation that investors voluntarily accept the writedowns has also been a stumbling block.

A non-voluntary writedown could trigger credit default swaps, a form of insurance that investors use as protection against a default.

Eurozone officials have insisted that the agreement be voluntary, arguing that credit default swaps could spread chaos in the financial system. But investors who have purchased credit protection might have an interest in holding out for a default.

The private sector owns over €200 billion worth of Greek debt, so the 50% writedown would translate to €100 billion.

That would help shrink Greek government debt to 120% of gross domestic product by 2020, according to eurozone officials. Currently, Greece’s debts are equal to about 160% of GDP.

Both sides are under pressure to reach agreement before Monday’s meeting of euro area finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup.

The restructuring of Greece’s private sector debt is a key condition for the nation to receive additional bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Greece is facing a €14.5 billion bond payment in March that it may not make without another injection of emergency financing.

Europe: Still a huge pain in the neck for investors

Officials from the EU, IMF and European Central Bank arrived in Athens last week to begin reviewing the government’s finances.

The troika, as three institutions are known, is beginning the process of negotiating a second bailout for Greece, valued at €130 billion.

Greece has struggled in the past to implement the austerity measures and structural reforms that are a condition of its existing bailout loans.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, a former ECB vice president, was appointed last year to impose more budget cuts and revive Greece’s moribund economy.

The big concern is that Greece could default in a disorderly way, a development that could force the nation out of the euro currency union.

That would likely cause the Greek banking system to collapse and plunge the nation’s economy deeper into recession. It could also drive up borrowing costs for other vulnerable euro area economies, such as Italy and Spain.

The spread of a debt contagion in the eurozone is seen by most economists as the single biggest threat facing the global economy. 

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The leaders of Germany and Italy sought to present a united front Wednesday in the fight to resolve the eurozone debt crisis and revive the ailing European economy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised the efforts of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to cut government spending and make his nation’s economy more competitive.

"We have followed with great respect how quickly the measures are being implemented," said Merkel. "The work of the Italian government is being honored."

Monti said Italians support a "very hard series of measures," adding that Europe "doesn’t have to fear any more that Italy is a possible source of contagion."

Italy has been a big worry for global investors in recent months. The nation’s economy has been stagnant for a decade and its borrowing costs have ballooned, raising concerns about the government’s solvency.

Monti acknowledged that high interest rates could have been justified when market participants were uncertain about Italy’s economic policies. "But not anymore," he said, adding, "especially after representatives of those same markets have said they appreciated the efforts [Italy] made."

That assertion will be put to the test this week when the Italian government will offer €8.5 billion in bills Thursday and up to €4.75 billion in bonds Friday.

On Wednesday, yields on 10-year Italian bonds eased, but still held above the key 7% threshold.

Europe’s debt crisis: An end in sight? Not so fast

The meeting in Berlin between Merkel and Monti was the latest in a series of talks this week among top European Union leaders as they piece together a solution to the long-running government debt and banking problems in the eurozone.

Merkel met with International Monetary Fund director Christine Lagarde late Tuesday and French President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday. Lagarde will meet with Sarkozy later Wednesday in Paris.

Merkel and Sarkozy will travel to Rome for more talks with Monti on Jan 20. Then, the top leaders of all 27 members of the EU will gather in Brussels on Jan. 30 for their first summit of the year.

On Wednesday, Merkel and Monti discussed the situation in Greece, where Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is under pressure to push through reforms needed to secure additional bailout funds.

Merkel said the first step in resolving the debt crisis is to "create the preconditions" for a second bailout for Greece fast payday loan.

EU leaders agreed in October to provide a second €130 billion rescue package for Greece and announced a deal with private sector investors to voluntarily write down the value of Greek government bonds by 50% as part of a debt exchange.

But negotiations with the private sector have stalled and there is still disagreement among some policymakers over whether requiring Greece to enact more austerity as a condition of a second bailout will help or hurt the nation’s fragile economy.

"The talks with banks are being pushed so that the question of Greece can be solved rationally, so that we can then focus on structural reforms in the euro zone as a whole," said Merkel.

Europe: Still a huge pain in the neck for investors

Still, European leaders are optimistic that a proposed fiscal compact, designed to ensure that governments do not spend beyond their means and rack up unsustainable debts, will be signed by the end of the month.

"There is work to be done but there is a good chance that we can expect significant progress or a political conclusion already on Jan. 30," said Merkel.

The terms of the pact include, among other things, a balanced budget requirement with an "automatic correction mechanism," and a provision to make national budget policies subject to EU authority "ex ante," or before the fact.

The political leaders of the 17 eurozone nations, which share the embattled single euro currency, agreed in principle to abide by the pact following a summit on Dec. 9. But the agreement is still subject to parliamentary approval in some member states.

Merkel also suggested that Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, could commit more capital to the European Stability Mechanism, which is expected to come into effect this year.

But Merkel was careful to say that Germany would contribute more capital to the fund only if necessary and other eurozone governments do the same.

The ESM would enhance or replace the eurozone’s current bailout fund, known as the European Financial Stability Facility. European leaders have said they will decide in March on a proposal to put more capital into the €500 billion ESM.

– CNN’s Diana Magnay contributed reporting from Berlin. 

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St. Louis should be in a better position to weather the latest round of airline consolidations — and a bankruptcy filing by another major carrier — than some other U.S. cities, aviation officials say.

Delta Air Lines halted its daily nonstop service between St. Louis and Washington’s Reagan-National Airport last week. But the Atlanta-based carrier expects to add a fifth flight later this year to New York’s La Guardia Airport, where it is beefing up its presence.

The latest round of airline mergers — which include the pairings of Southwest Airlines and AirTran and United Airlines and Continental — have communities bracing for lost competition and skimpier schedules.

But Lambert-St. Louis International Airport already took the brunt of its lost flights in the decade that followed American Airline’s acquisition of Trans World Airlines in 2001. Prior to that acquisition, TWA was the dominant carrier at Lambert.

Today, Lambert’s flight schedule is spread over 13 air carriers, said Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge. Southwest Airlines now offers more daily flights — 84 — than any other airline serving Lambert.

“It just happened to us first, which was hard,” Hamm-Niebruegge said. “It did give us time to see the value of diversification and going out and trying to broaden your base.”

In recent months, Southwest Airlines has merged with fellow low-cost carrier AirTran Airways. St. Louis is one of 33 markets served by both airlines. In July, AirTran moved to a gate and ticket space inside Lambert’s Terminal 2, near Southwest.

Southwest spokeswoman Laurel Moffat said the airline is working on obtaining Federal Aviation Administration approval to operate as a single carrier. Southwest expects to receive the single-operation certificate by the end of the first quarter.

But the process of absorbing AirTran into the Southwest brand is expected to take several years, she said. AirTran serves Atlanta and Orlando from St. Louis. Southwest already has picked up AirTran’s service between Milwaukee and Lambert.

The AirTran merger with Southwest will cause “a lot of problems” elsewhere — including AirTran’s hub in Atlanta — but none is expected in St. Louis, said airline analyst Michael Boyd my credit score. Same is true for the United-Continental merger.

“Honestly, you have fewer brand choices,” he said. “But we’ve looked at this. There aren’t any great changes in terms of access for St. Louis.”

Last month, Delta Air Lines and US Airways concluded a swap of slots at Reagan-National Airport and La Guardia Airport, respectively.

The move nixed one Delta flight between St. Louis and Reagan. But Delta expects to add a flight to La Guardia this spring, giving it five direct flights between Lambert-St. Louis and that destination.

Delta completed its merger with Northwest Airlines in 2008.

United and Continental completed their merger in October 2010 and are still integrating their operations. A spokesman said the company is working toward adopting a single United brand identity late this quarter. So far, no changes have been announced in St. Louis.

Hamm-Niebruegge said the destinations currently served by United and Continental flights don’t compete.

United has daily flights to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Denver, San Francisco and Washington’s Dulles Airport out of Lambert. Continental flies to Cleveland, Houston and Newark.

Hamm-Niebruegge said nothing has changed with American Airlines’ local plans either.

AMR Corp., American’s parent company, filed for bankruptcy protection in November and made immediate assurances that there would be no immediate changes to the flight schedules in St. Louis.

Overall, St. Louis is “in a steady state right now,” said aviation consultant Darryl Jenkins, chairman of the American Aviation Institute.

The only thing that would upset the status quo would be a jolt to the area economy — good or bad, Jenkins said. Dramatic improvements to the region’s economic condition could mean more flights. Conversely, a loss of employers would mean fewer planes.

“I think for the foreseeable future, St. Louis will probably keep the city pairs it has and keep those frequencies,” Jenkins said.

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+%3Cp%3E+Shares+in+solar+power+company+First+Solar+fell+over+20%25+in+early+trading+Wednesday+after+the+firm+lowered+its+sales+forecast+for+2011.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+Arizona-based+company%2C+which+is+a+leading+maker+of+thin-film+solar+panels+and+also+a+developer+of+solar+power+projects%2C+predicted+net+sales+in+2011+of+%242.8+to+%242.9+billion.+That%27s+down+from+earlier+projections+of+%243.0+to+%243.3+billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+company+said+the+lower+sales+were+due+to+delays+in+its+projects+caused+by+weather+and+%26quot%3Bother+factors%2C%26quot%3B+but+predicted+a+healthy+2012.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BOur+diverse+business+model+and+robust+project+pipeline+will+help+First+Solar+generate+a+significant+amount+of+cash+in+2012+while+improving+operational+efficiencies%2C%26quot%3B+Mike+Ahearn%2C+Chairman+and+Interim+CEO+of+First+Solar%2C+said+in+a+statement+Wednesday.+%3C%2Fp%3ESolar+power+bankruptcies+loom+as+prices+collapse%3Cp%3EThe+company%2C+which+has+been+steadily+growing+in+profitability+since+2007%2C+is+expecting+its+earnings+per+share+to+range+between+%243.75+and+%244.25+in+2012.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThin+film+solar+panels+are+less+efficient+than+traditional+silicon-based+solar+panels+but+have+historically+been+cheaper+to+produce.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ELike+all+solar+panel+makers%2C+shares+in+First+Solar+%28%29+have+been+battered+this+year+as+a+huge+oversupply+and+slack+demand+caused+the+price+of+silicon+solar+panels+to+plummet.+First+Solar+shares+are+down+over+70%25+since+January.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EDozens+of+solar+panel+makers+are+expected+to+go+bankrupt+this+year+as+the+depressed+prices+prune+weaker+companies+from+the+market.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+most+visible+victim+of+the+price+collapse+so+far+has+been+Solyndra%2C+a+maker+of+advanced+but+pricey+solar+panels+that+went+bankrupt+after+receiving+a+half-billion+dollar+loan+backed+by+the+U.S.+government.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EFirst+Solar+does+not+have+any+government-backed+loans.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EJesse+Pichel%2C+an+analyst+at+the+investment+bank+Jefferies+%26amp%3B+Co.%2C+maintained+a+hold+rating+on+First+Solar+stock+earlier+this+week+even+in+anticipatiinon+of+the+lowered+sales+figures.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EStill%2C+Pichel+said+the+company+has+to+work+on+lowering+costs.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BFirst+Solar+has+projects+which+are+profitable+and+is+not+a+bankruptcy+risk+near+term+in+our+view%2C%26quot%3B+he+said.+%26quot%3BBut+the+future+of+the+company+will+be+determined+by+its+ability+to+lower+module+costs+and+increase+efficiency.%26quot%3B+%26nbsp%3B+%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2011%2F12%2F14%2Ftechnology%2Ffirst_solar%2Findex.htm%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

ST. LOUIS

At your Thanksgiving table, you may have joined millions of Americans giving thanks for the good health, happiness and love in your family.

Polls show that people have grown increasingly appreciative of these elements in their lives as financial matters have become shakier. Here are eight money matters that may make people thankful.

Protesters camped outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in London say they are staying put despite a deadline for them to take down their tents or face legal action.

London officials attached eviction notices to the tents Wednesday, demanding they be removed from the churchyard by 6 p.m. (1800 GMT, 1 p.m. EST) Thursday.

The Occupy London group say they will not leave, but will mark the passing of the deadline with a rally outside the cathedral. The City of London Corporation says that if the tents are not removed it will go to court seeking an eviction notice _ a process that could take months low fee cash advance.

More than 200 tents have been pitched outside the famous domed church since Oct. 15 in a protest against capitalist excess inspired by New York’s Occupy Wall Street.

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Spanish telephone company Telefonica said Friday it lost euro429 million ($584 million) in the third quarter, its first quarterly loss in nine years, after hefty costs laying off workers in Spain’s moribund economy.

It compared to profits of euro5.1 billion in the same period of 2010, although that figure included a one-off gain from Telefonica’s takeover of Brazilian cell phone company Vivo.

Telefonica said the third quarter 2011 results included costs of euro1.87 billion in compensation for workers being laid off in Spain.

Revenue in Spain for the quarter was down 8.8 percent. But total revenue for the quarter _ in Spain and all the countries where Telefonica operates _ was up 3.7 percent to euro15.8 billion no fax payday advances.

The poor performance in Spain was offset by a 17.5 percent rise in revenue in Latin America.

Telefonica is eliminating up to 6,500 jobs, or close to 20 percent of its work force, in Spain through 2013 to reduce costs.

Telefonica’s profits for the first nine months of the year were down 69 percent to euro2.73 billion, again in part because of redundancy costs. Revenue for the January-September period rose 5.4 percent.

Telefonica shares were practically unchanged at euro13.9 in early trading.

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At his first press conference as CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally was asked how he could run such a complex company with no experience in the car business.

The former Boeing executive responded that cars, which have around 10,000 parts, are indeed very sophisticated. Then he smiled and noted that a jumbo jet has 4 million parts _ and it flies.

If there were doubters when Mulally joined Ford in 2006, there aren’t many now. The year he took over, the company lost $17 billion. Last year, it made $6.6 billion, its biggest profit in 11 years. Within weeks of arriving, Mulally took out a huge loan and began pushing through a restructuring that continued even as the recession sent rivals General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy.

Behind his sunny demeanor and fuzzy red sweater vests, the 66-year-old Kansan had the steel to rein in the bureaucracy and infighting at Ford. He promoted managers who could work together and fired those who couldn’t. He shed money-losing brands like Jaguar, Volvo and Mercury. He closed six U.S. plants, cut thousands of jobs and saved billions in engineering costs by developing fewer cars for the global market, such as the Fiesta and Focus, instead of unique models for each region.

Mulally still faces big challenges. Ford is struggling to overhaul Lincoln, which was the nation’s top-selling luxury brand a decade ago but fell victim to underfunding and more stylish rivals. Its sales in China, the world’s biggest car market, are just one-third of GM’s. And slow growth in the U.S. is hindering a comeback in car sales.

Mulally spoke with The Associated Press about the economy, the car industry and his management style. Excerpts appear below, edited for length and clarity.

Q: What are your biggest worries about the economy?

A: We’re generally on the right track, but it is going to be a slower recovery than we’ve ever had before. The private sector leading us out of this recession is the most important thing.

Q: President Obama called you when he was on Martha’s Vineyard. Did he ask for advice on the economy?

A: What he wanted to know, because we interact with so many customers, (was) how consumers (are) feeling about everything. They’re looking for both near-term action on jobs and the economy, but they’re also looking for longer-term solutions on our debt, on our budget deficits, our trade imbalances. They’re looking for more clarity on where the United States is going, so that they can plan their near-term actions against the long term.

Q: Why aren’t companies using their cash stockpiles to hire more?

A: The consumer has pulled back. We’re ready with the products and services that people really do want, but we’re going to match our production of goods and services, cars and trucks, to what the real demand is. We’re very disciplined about that. The worst thing you could do is make more than what the market wants, which our industry has done sometimes in the past. The demand is still very, very low.

Q: Is it a permanent trend that people want more fuel-efficient cars?

A: I sure think so. Most of us in the United States and around the world know that we are going to pay more for energy going forward. There will be ups and downs but, in general, it is more expensive to find oil and bring it to market than ever before. So fuel efficiency has just continued to move as the number one consideration. It doesn’t make any difference whether it’s a new Ford Fiesta or an F-150, the customers want the most fuel-efficient vehicle.

Q: Take us through how, inside your company, that changes things.

A: If you look at Ford historically in the United States, we were about 70 percent trucks and bigger SUVs and made 30 percent cars. Around the world, the percentage is the opposite way. But in the United States, we are moving to a tremendously balanced portfolio of small, medium and large vehicles. Over the next few years, we’ll be at the place where nearly 60 percent of our vehicles are small- or medium-sized cars, and about 40 percent will be the larger SUVs and trucks free business cards. It really is a tremendous transformation of Ford.

Q: How do you make that happen? How do you change the employee’s mindset, on down to the engineer and into the assembly line?

A: Every Thursday, we’re all linked up on the Internet and in two and a half hours, we go through about 320 charts. All the charts have the areas that need special attention. We review the entire operation. You can’t fool anybody. Do you have a compelling vision? Do you have a comprehensive strategy to deliver that vision? And are we going to work together to relentlessly implement that? When you do that, it’s like everybody is involved. We have a laser focus now. Every vehicle had to be best in class, quality, fuel efficiency, safety. That is benchmarked against the competition. Everybody knows everything.

Q: Some Ford workers are upset about your compensation. (Mulally made $26.5 million in salary, stock options, bonuses and other compensation last year). What would you say to an hourly worker who asks why your pay is fair when a new hire makes less than $30,000 a year?

A: My compensation is entirely tied to the success of Ford. The vast majority of my compensation is at risk, because the numbers that you see are only realizable if we profitably grow the corporation. And that’s the way it should be. I believe in it so much that most of the management team and most of the salary team _ and also our wonderful employees that are represented by the UAW _ have had profit sharing plans. We’re continuing to talk together about how to align all of our compensation even more. Because the most important thing for everybody is that they get a chance to participate in the profitable growth that we deliver.

Q: Would you say there’s a problem in this country because of the gap between what the richest make and what the middle class is earning?

A: I really believe in capitalism and I think it has served the United States fantastically. It’s so important that we just take stock about what is right about America. We’re going through a rough patch. We’re fixing some issues associated with a couple of really big bubbles that we all created, starting with all of us living beyond our means. We’re straightening that out right now. It’s going to take a little while but we can do it. But what’s really right is the economic model and capitalism and us holding ourselves accountable for making products and services that people really do want. And the market gets to decide who’s successful, right?

Q: I’d like to learn more about you personally and also you in the workplace, your management style.

A: I have always wanted to contribute to something that was meaningful and that helped people. I found my dream at Boeing. I love airplanes and I love design. I also felt like what I was really doing was providing safe and efficient transportation and helping people get together around the world. I don’t have to be the smartest or the brightest. I love working with a lot of talented people to do something that you can’t do just by yourself.

How do you bring everybody together around doing something? You need a compelling vision, a clear strategy (and) relentless implementation. I just love seeing people get a chance to perform and do something in a meaningful way. I think everybody needs to be included. I’ve found that when everybody knows what the plan is and they know what the status is, and everybody is helping each other, magic things happen.

Q: Tell us about some of the people you’ve learned from.

A: So many people I’ve learned so much from, starting with my mother, (who taught me to) contribute to something important, treat others the way you want to be treated and that the purpose of life is to love and be loved, in that order.

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Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano was named Japan’s new trade minister Monday, replacing a politician who resigned over comments considered insensitive to evacuees in the country’s nuclear crisis.

Yoshio Hachiro resigned over the weekend, after just eight days in the post, after he called the area around a crippled nuclear power plant a “town of death.” The resignation was an embarrassment for the government Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as it tries to tackle the massive task of rebuilding the tsunami-battered northeast coast.

Edano’s appointment was announced by Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura.

Edano, 47, became a familiar figure on television as the government’s chief spokesman during the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

Some 100,000 people who used to live around the plant have been evacuated and it remains unclear when they will be able to return to their homes.

Hachiro, Noda and other government ministers were visiting the Fukushima plant Thursday when Hachiro made his comments. He later told reporters he just meant to convey the seriousness of the situation and his commitment to decontaminate it so residents can return.

Announcing his resignation on Saturday, Hachiro said the remarks “rubbed the feelings of Fukushima people the wrong way” but that he did not intend to be hurtful.

Hachiro, 63, was less forthcoming about a second comment that also was criticized. According to local news reports, he joked with journalists that radiation he acquired on his clothing during his visit to Fukushima might be contagious.

Support for Noda’s new government has started out strong, with an approval rating of 62.8 percent in a Kyodo poll released last Saturday. But that rating could take a hit over Hachiro’s gaffe.

Past leaders have had honeymoon periods of relatively high approval ratings that declined steadily as the public grew impatient.

Noda’s predecessor, Naoto Kan, had early approval ratings topping 60 percent that crashed to below 20 percent near the end of his 15-month tenure due to perceptions his government mishandled the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis.

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