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Stories Report on Business is following today:
Britain's new government begins to cut
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer today unveiled more than £6-billion, or almost $9-billion U.S., in cuts as the new government moves quickly to make good on a pledge to slash its deficit. George Osborne said £2-billion would come from cutting in areas including information technology, suppliers and property, £700-million from not adding workers to the government payroll and £500-million from other spending, according to The Associated Press.
"This is the first time this government has announced difficult decisions on spending," he told reporters. "It will not be the last."
Markets, euro sink again
European stocks and the euro are sinking again this morning, and U.S. markets are expected to follow suit when they open. Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 futures are down, while Canadian markets are closed.
The euro sank on continuing fears over Europe's debt crisis, particularly given the nationalization of a Spanish bank on the weekend. The Bank of Spain took over CajaSur, a regional financial institutions, after its merger talks collapsed.
Greece hunts for tax cheats
Desperate to get its hands on every euro it can find given its debt crisis and notorious tax system, Greece is scouring for tax cheats among the ranks of its highly paid pro soccer players, artists and lawyers. Yannis Kapeleris, secretary general of a special audit office in the government's finance minister, said in a radio interview yesterday that authorities are "looking into the cases of artists, footballers, lawyers and nightclub owners for tax offences," Agence France Presse reported.
According to his comments carried by the news agency, Mr. Kapeleris said auditors are comparing tax returns whose lower incomes don't appear to match lifestyles.
The Ethnos newspaper said at least three soccer stars, three singers and four lawyers are being audited.
Related: Brian Milner on why Greek-style medicine may be worse than the disease
Gulf states to study euro crisis
The troubles in the euro zone have prompted four Gulf states to study the implications for their own push for a currency union. Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah said yesterday that the Gulf Co-operation Council, made up of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar, is taking time to look at the developments among the 16 countries that share the euro, though he said that does not necessarily mean a delay. "We want to do it at the right time and the right format," he said
Economists more upbeat on U.S.
Economists are becoming more upbeat on the outlook for the United States. An outlook being released today by The National Association for Business Economics shows forecasters more optimistic than when they were last polled in February. The panel has boosted its projection for economic growth this year to 3.2 per cent and expects the economy to expand at a similar pace next year.
"Growth prospects are stronger, unemployment and inflation are lower, and worries relating to consumer retrenchment and domestic financial headwinds have diminished," NABE president Lynn Reaser said, according to The Associated Press, although she gave a nod to the mounting troubles in Europe as the group also warned of the growing deficits in the United States.
Markets eye home sales data
U.S. markets are awaiting details this morning on the performance of the U.S. housing market in April. The National Association of Realtors releases its freshest reading at 10 a.m. ET, and economists believe it will show existing home sales jumped about 5 per cent in the runup to the expiry of a home buying tax credit.
"After hibernating for most of the winter, home buyers woke up to an extended tax credit and attractive affordability," said BMO Nesbitt Burns senior economist Sal Guatieri. "Existing home sales likely jumped 5 per cent in April after spiking 6.8 per cent the prior month ... The expected increase would lift existing home sales about 20 per cent from deeply depressed levels a year ago, suggesting a moderate bang from the tax-credit buck."
From today's Report on Business
U.S. turns up heat on BP over spill
How RBC is making waves in New York
At The Top: Ken Rowe's feet firmly on ground at IMP
Tim Cestnick on taxes: Selling the keys to the family cottage