Online VnExpress says Duong Chi Dung, former chairman of Vietnam National Shipping Lines, or Vinalines, and three other executives were detained Friday for allegedly causing losses of $80 million from 2009-2010 after purchasing old ships and making poor investments.

Dung was promoted in February to head the government’s Maritime Department no fax pay day loan.

The arrests come more than a month after nine senior executives of another major state-owned company, the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industrial Group, or Vinashin, were given lengthy jail sentences following a scandal that resulted in the lowering of Vietnam’s credit rating.

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The Treasury sold three kinds of notes Thursday, two maturing in 2015 and one in 2016. Of them only one was strictly comparable to previous sales and the interest rate, or yield, on that three-year bond went up to 4.87 percent, from 4 fast payday loan no faxing.04 percent on May 3.

On the secondary market, the interest rate on Spanish 10-year bonds stood at 6.28 percent. The spread _ the difference between it and the yield on safe-haven German bunds _ was 481 basis points.

Spain’s Ibex 35 stock index was virtually unchanged in early trading.

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There are a series of upcoming events that could spell the end of a deal, put in place nearly three months ago, to restructure Greece’s debt under strict terms dictated by the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, known as the troika.

"The threat from Greece remains real, and Greece exiting the euro area would likely have contagion effects that cannot easily be addressed in the current set-up," said Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts in a note Monday. "The next weeks are crucial."

Greece has been struggling under a mountain of debt, as it tries to push through unpopular austerity measures and get its economy on solid footing. Without a cohesive government, that battle just got tougher.

Here’s what next in the Greek political drama, and what it could mean for the rest of Europe and the global economy.

Where do things stand after last week’s national elections? There is still no party that has been able to form a new government. The two parties from the previous ruling coalition that supported austerity and the debt deal, New Democracy and Pasok, only have 149 seats between them and 151 are needed.

So far, none of the other parties are willing to join them, given Greek voters’ anger over the harsh austerity measures.

If Greek President Karolos Papoulias is not able to bring together a new ruling coalition by Thursday, he is expected to call for another round of voting, likely in mid-June.

What is likely to happen if new elections are held in June? Recent polls and various experts seem to agree that the Coalition of the Radical Left, also known as Syriza, would be the top vote getter in the next round. Syriza has gained solid support since finishing second in last week’s round of voting.

If it can form a majority coalition with other anti-austerity parties, that would leave Greece with a government opposed to the earlier deals made with the EU, IMF and ECB, which has to approve funds for Greece that would allow the government to pay its bills and make its bond payments.

Whether the June election result would lead to a disorderly default and a Greek exit from the euro is far less clear.

"Even Syriza is not really interested in getting out of the euro. Their primary focus is to renegotiate the bailout package," said Dimitri Papadimitriou, economics professor and expert on Greece from Bard College.

But without financial support from the so-called troika, it will be tough for Greece to meet its financial obligations.

Can Greece stop paying its bills and still stay in the eurozone? That is the biggest unknown, and probably the biggest worry for markets.

Elisabeth Afseth, fixed income analyst for Investec Bank in London, said if Greece stops paying its bills, that will mean the end of the funding it so desperately needs. If that happens, it won’t have much choice but to start issuing its own currency to pay its ongoing bills.

How Greece can stay in eurozone

But Papadimitriou said that other European leaders are also loath to have Greece exit the euro, due to the shock it might cause for the continent’s already-fragile financial system 100% free credit score. Therefore, he said, it is possible, albeit unlikely, that there could be yet another new deal even if Greece stops paying what it owes.

"I would expect the European finance ministers’ meeting to have intense discussions this week," he said. "The best case for keeping Greece within the euro would be for the rest of Europe to be proactive in trying to come up with a renegotiated deal suitable for all parties. But I’m not optimistic."

What’s the best case scenario for Greece leaving the euro? In the best case, the ECB steps in and contains the so-called contagion effect.

While the central bank’s drumbeat has been to not be the lender of last resort, it has also made it clear that it would do everything in its power to keep the crisis from spreading.

Greek euro exit won’t mean tragedy

A dozen European countries are already in recession but thanks to Germany’s surprise growht, the entire EU and eurozone managed to stave off recession in the first quarter.

Even in this best case scenario, one in which measures to prop up the non-Greek sovereign debt work, the austerity measures needed to pay for them would send the remaining countries of the eurozone and EU into an even deeper, more prolonged downturn.

Yields could soar on government debt for Portugal and Ireland, let alone much larger economies like Spain and Italy, vastly increasing the costs for the remaining European governments that are paying for various bailouts.

That would also weigh on the already slowing growth in both the United States and Asia.

How bad could things get? Things could be worse than that — far worse.

"I don’t think anyone at the present time can quantify the contagion effect of a disorderly exit of Greece from the eurozone," said Papadimitriou. "No one can predict the markets. They have a mind of their own.

In a worst-case scenario, the Greek exit prompts other countries to leave the euro, as voters there follow Greek voters’ lead and rebel against austerity measures.

"As it stands now, there’s no precedence for leaving," said Afseth. "If Greece leaves, all of sudden there is precedent."

If larger countries follow Greece out of eurozone, it could cause a meltdown in the European banking sector, which holds billions of euros of sovereign debt of the other troubled economies, as well as private sector loans to consumers.

In turn, businesses in those countries would be unable to pay given their suddenly devalued currency.

While U.S. authorities have said U.S. banks have relatively limited exposure to European sovereign debt, the major banks here do have exposure to the European banking system, so a meltdown in European markets would be felt in the United States and around the globe. 

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Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2 percent to 8,974.69 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2 percent to 4,292.70. Benchmarks in Singapore and New Zealand also rose.

But South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6 percent at 1,906.60 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1 percent at 19,942.64.

The People’s Bank of China announced the bank reserve ratio requirement is being reduced a half percentage point as of next Friday.

The move brings the rate down to 20 percent for most major banks and effectively frees up billions of dollars for lending.

But the regional market remains nervous about political uncertainty in crisis-struck Greece.

Wall Street ended last week with a decline after JPMorgan said it lost $2 billion on poorly-thought-out trades. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3 percent Friday to 12,820.60.

In currencies, the euro dipped slightly at $1.2890 while the dollar was little changed at 80.08 Japanese yen.

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"The situation in Europe remains fluid, and we’re not likely to get much clarity for awhile, so today is one of those days when a lack of really bad news is good news," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.

The Dow Jones industrial average () rose 20 points, or 0.2%, snapping a six-day losing streak, and the S&P 500 () added 3 points, or 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq () lost 1 point.

Cisco (, Fortune 500) was the biggest laggard on all three indexes, with shares tumbling more than 10%. Late Wednesday, the networking giant released a disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter.

Europe remains in the spotlight Thursday as Greek politicians continue to struggle to form a coalition government and Spanish bond yields keep rising.

After the Greek radical left party failed to gain consensus, Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos was given the mandate to form a coalition government by the Greek president on Thursday.

Greece will muddle through

Meanwhile, the Bank of Spain moved to take over Bankia — one of Spain’s largest and most troubled banks — late Wednesday.

U.S. stocks bounced back somewhat from a sharp sell-off Wednesday, but all three major indexes closed in the red as investors continued to fret about Greece and Spain.

World markets: European stocks closed with slim gains. Britain’s FTSE 100 () ticked up 0.3%, DAX () in Germany gained 0.7%, while France’s CAC 40 () rose 0.4%.

The Bank of England held its key interest rate steady and did not increase its asset-buying program at the conclusion of its two-day meeting Thursday, despite a recent report that showed the U.K. has fallen into a new recession.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite () closed 0.1% higher, while the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong slid 0.5% and Japan’s Nikkei () edged lower 0.4%.

China reported import and export growth that was slower than expected, according to forecasts from economists at HSBC. The report could stir new concerns from investors around the globe about a so-called hard landing for China’s economy, but HSBC said it is also likely to prompt further monetary policy easing by the People’s Bank of China.

Economy: The number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell 1,000 to 367,000 in the latest week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the report to show 365,000 claims.

The U.S. trade deficit widened to $51.8 billion in March from $45.5 billion in February, according to the Commerce Department. The deficit was narrower than the $53 billion economists had expected.

The Treasury Department on Thursday recorded a $59 billion surplus for the month of May, marking the first time in more than three years that Washington took in more money than it paid out. Tax receipts were higher and spending lower than they were last April.

Companies: Beauty products company Avon (, Fortune 500) said that perfume-maker Coty raised its unsolicited bid for the company to $24.75 a share from its earlier offer of $23.25. Avon’s board said it will consider the offer. Shares of Avon declined.

Avon: Coty’s back with a higher bid

Department store chain Kohl’s (, Fortune 500) reported earnings per share of 63 cents, down from 69 cents a year earlier but still better than the forecast of 61 cents from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. But the company gave earnings guidance for the current quarter that was below current forecasts, sending shares lower.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound, but gained against the Japanese yen.

Oil for June delivery gained 27 cents to settle at $97.08 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery rose $1.30 to settle at $1,595.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.88% from 1.84% late Wednesday. 

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EU President Herman Van Rompuy also called for an impromptu informal summit of the 27 EU government leaders on May 23 to discuss economic growth and to prepare for a summit in June focused on job-boosting measures.

In elections on Sunday, voters in France and Greece gave strong support to parties who want to roll back or slow down the spending cuts and tax increases that have defined Europe’s response to its debt crisis.

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The Town and Country-based apparel company has diverse portfolio of brands including Vince, Rebecca Taylor, David Meister, Lamb & Flag, Baby Phat, and Sag Harbor.

Granoff replaces Michael Kramer, who left to become chief operating officer of J.C. Penney.

She was also formerly an executive vice president of Liz Claiborne Inc. where she was in charge of the worldwide business of Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand Jeans, and Kate Spade payday loans. She has also held executive positions with Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Estee Lauder Inc.

“I am excited about the opportunity to partner with Kellwood and Sun Capital to optimize the brand portfolio and enhance overall business performance,” she said in a statement. “We have a great platform to accelerate growth and profitability.”

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A major Yahoo shareholder who exposed the fabrication is now leading the charge to oust Thompson for unethical conduct. In a letter Friday, activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb demanded that the board of the struggling Internet company fire Thompson by noon EDT Monday or face possible legal action.

“CEO’s have been terminated for less at other companies,” wrote Loeb, who controls a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo through his hedge fund, Third Point.

Yahoo reiterated Friday that “the board is reviewing this matter and, upon completion of its review, will make an appropriate disclosure to shareholders.”

Thompson’s troubles revolve around an exaggeration about his education at Stonehill College, a small Catholic school near Boston where he graduated in 1979. Since announcing Thompson’s hiring in January, Yahoo had included two bachelor’s degrees — one for accounting and the other for computer science — on the executive’s biography. The dual degrees appeared on Yahoo’s website and in an April 27 document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission free business cards.

After being confronted Thursday by Loeb, Yahoo confirmed that Thompson received only an accounting degree from Stonehill. Yahoo has since removed all references to Thompson’s education from its website. The company hadn’t amended its SEC filing with the inaccuracy as of late Friday.

It’s unclear whether the inaccuracy originated with Thompson or someone else at Yahoo.

Even if Thompson didn’t personally write his biography, he almost certainly reviewed the information and should be held accountable for the distortion, said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

Yahoo blamed an “inadvertent error.” After that excuse was ridiculed on the Internet, Yahoo issued another statement late Thursday about the board’s intent to look into what happened.

Loeb is trying to oust Thompson as he seeks four seats on Yahoo’s board of directors — one for himself and three for his allies.

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Planned firings rose 11 percent to 40,559 from April 2011, according to figures released today by Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. The monthly average of 45,913 cuts through the first four months of this year is lower than the full-year average of 50,507 for 2011.

Employers in education, government, and the consumer goods and transportation industries are easing the pace of dismissals even as they continue to trim headcount, the report said. Job creation in the world