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The international bank lobbying group that has been leading negotiations on giving debt-ridden Greece easier terms for its bonds on Sunday rejected calls to impose larger losses on private investors.

Forcing private creditors to write down their Greek bond holdings by more than the 21 percent tentatively agreed to in a July deal would quickly cause a “domino effect” that would see the crisis spread to other parts of Europe, warned Josef Ackermann, the outgoing chairman of the Institute of International Finance.

Such a move would ultimately cost taxpayers much more than just bailing out Greece and erode confidence in the euro, said Ackermann, who is also the CEO of Germany’s Deutsche Bank, a major lender to Greece.

Germany and other rich eurozone nations have been pushing for a re-negotiation of the July deal, arguing that the economic situation in Greece has significantly deteriorated since then and may require a steeper cut in the country’s debt load.

However, Ackermann quickly rejected that push, saying that the agreement was fair and already placed a heavy burden on banks at a time of major market turmoil.

“If we now start reopening this Pandora’s box we will lose a lot of time and I’m not sure people would be willing to participate,” Ackermann told a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund.

Under the July deal, Greece is asking banks and other large private investors to swap their existing Greek bonds for ones with longer repayment deadlines, a lower face value or lower interest rates. The IIF says the deal would save Greece some euro54 billion by 2014 and euro135 billion by 2020.

However, most analysts say that those savings are far too small to make Greece’s massive debts _ which amount to some 160 percent of economic output _ sustainable again. At the same time, there have been growing doubts that investors will agree to swap 90 percent of their bond holdings, a minimum threshold that Athens set to make the deal worthwhile.

Getting private creditors to agree to the deal comes at a heavy cost for Greece. Apart from temporarily being rated in “selective default” _ a first for a eurozone nation _ the country has to spend some euro42 billion on setting up a collateral fund that would secure the remaining value of the bonds.

If at some point Athens decides that a steeper cut in its debt was necessary, that money would go to the bondholders.

“If the July deal goes ahead, Greece would be locked into this perpetually,” said Sony Kapoor, managing director of Re-Define, a Brussels-based economic think tank.

Greece has been relying on euro110 billion in rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund since May 2010. In July, when it became clear that Athens needed more help, eurozone leaders agreed on a second, euro109 billion bailout, although several aspects of that deal still need to be finalized.

To make the second aid package acceptable for their taxpayers, several rich countries led by Germany pushed for banks and big insurance companies to share some of the pain of bailing out Greece _ despite opposition from the European Union and the European Central Bank, the central bank for the 17 nations that use the euro as a common currency.

But since July, the eurozone’s debt crisis has significantly worsened, partly because investors now fear that they may also face losses on bonds from already bailed-out Portugal and Ireland as well as struggling Italy and Spain. The Greek economy is now set to shrink 5.3 percent this year, up from a June estimate of a 3.8 percent decline, followed by a further contraction in 2012.

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Drivers of electric and other alternative-fuel vehicles enjoy a special perk: They can drive solo in California’s carpool lanes.

But under a controversial plan proposed by local traffic agencies, those drivers will have to pay to use two heavily used carpool lanes that are being converted to toll roads.

It has riled electric-car shoppers and alternative-fuel-vehicle advocates who worry that this is the first step in chipping away at a California tradition of letting solo drivers of autos with new technology and low emissions into carpool lanes paydayloans.

Officials plan to convert 25 miles of freeway carpool lanes into toll lanes. Carpoolers and buses will be able to use the lanes for free, while solo drivers

Schnucks is exiting the Mid-South region, selling nine of its Memphis, Tenn.-area stores to Kroger and closing three others, the grocery chain announced this afternoon.

“Despite the best efforts of our talented store teams and a strong customer following, we were unable to gain the strong foothold we had hoped for when we entered the market in 2002,” Scott Schnuck, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Schnucks competes very favorably in other markets, but in the Mid-South, fierce competition including a growing number of non-traditional grocers and lingering high price perception was the one-two punch that brought us to today’s announcement.”

The Memphis area was Schnucks’ second-largest market with 12 stores and eight fuel and convenience centers. Schnucks, which is based in Maryland Heights, operates 105 stores in seven states.

The nearly 1,200 Schnucks employees at those stores will be given the chance to interview for positions with Kroger.

Last year, Schnucks closed another store in the Memphis area. At that time, it cited increased competition from other retailers, including some supercenters.

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Popular U.S. retailer J. Crew opened its first store in Canada to long line-ups and immediate controversy over its pricing strategy.

Like many other U.S. retailers, the preppy fashion chain is charging higher prices in Canada than in the U.S., on average 15 per cent more before taxes.

The move has annoyed some of its Canadian customers, who believe Canadian prices should be on par with the U.S., given the currencies are roughly equivalent.

J. Crew has responded to customers with a letter signed by President Jenna Lyons that said the retailer is taking the concerns very seriously.

Zoltek Companies reported a loss of $1.461 million in the June quarter, compared to a loss of $444,000 in the same period last year.  The loss was 4 cents per share in the recent quarter, compared to a 1 cent loss a year earlier.

The carbon fiber maker has lost $8.1 million in the first nine months of its fiscal year, compared to $5.9 million in the same period last year.

The company said the June quarter earnings drop doesn’t represent “negative fundamentals best payday advance.”  Instead, last year’s quarter showed “large customer delivery requirements” that fluctuated greatly.  The company said it is expecting improving operating results.

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A Swedish shipping company says Benin’s navy has thwarted an attack by pirates on one of its tankers off the coast of Benin’s capital, Cotonou.

Wisby Shipmanagement AB said in a statement Monday that pirates boarded its vessel, the Gotland Sofia, early Sunday, but the navy arrived quickly and the pirates fled.

The company said no one was injured in the attack and the tanker suffered only minor damage.

It says the crew of 18 Filipinos, four Swedes and one Ukrainian were shocked by the incident.

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Germany and France have overcome differences over how to combat the continent’s spreading debt crises and agreed on a common position ahead of an emergency European summit Thursday, the French president’s office said.

The leaders of the eurozone’s biggest economies held last-ditch talks for seven hours in Berlin late Wednesday, amid pressure for a big announcement that could boost market confidence and contain the turmoil.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy “reached agreement on a common Franco-German position,” Sarkozy’s office said in a statement early Thursday, without elaborating on what the position is.

Germany had downplayed calls for anything “spectacular” while France had pushed for a strong, long-term aid plan for Greece at Thursday’s summit in Brussels.

The stakes are high. Markets have been extremely volatile over the past weeks on fears the crisis might spread to larger countries like Italy. The International Monetary Fund warned that leaders must do more to keep debt troubles from poisoning the entire continent’s economy.

Merkel and Sarkozy met with European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet on Wednesday as they worked toward a plan. They told EU President Herman Van Rompuy about their agreement so that he can take it into account in his consultations ahead of Thursday’s meetings, expected to start midday in Brussels, the French statement said.

Earlier Wednesday, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said the leaders would discuss “all the options on the table and agree, if possible, on a joint position.”

But he reiterated Merkel’s stance that the talks will not yield a “spectacular solution” that fixes Greece’s problems quickly, but will be merely a stepping stone in a longer process. Merkel had said there would be no decision to restructure Greece’s debt or create eurobonds that link debt across countries.

The French government and the European Commission, however, warned that it was urgent that the EU come up with a significant deal.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin told France-Info radio that “there should be a strong message tomorrow, from the highest level.”

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said “nobody should be under any illusion, the situation is very serious.”

He said that at the very least, leaders need to present how they will make Greece’s debt sustainable, under what terms private creditors will have to contribute to a new bailout for the country, and what new powers to give to their bailout fund.

European leaders have faced criticism for their slow, piecemeal efforts to stem the debt crisis.

The IMF urged European leaders to act more boldly, warning that there is “no consistent roadmap ahead” and that this could produce “possible significant regional and global spillovers.”

“Market participants remain unconvinced that a sustainable solution is at hand,” the report said. “Limiting any further damage is now crucial.”

Borrowing rates have risen particularly sharply in Italy and Spain and while they eased slightly a day ahead of the summit, sentiment remains fragile as investors see no immediate way through Europe’s policy stalemate.

Merkel has opposed a restructuring of Greece’s debt that would force losses upon private sector creditors as well as any notion of creating eurobonds _ debt that links different countries together.

Such jointly guaranteed bonds for the entire eurozone would make borrowing cheaper for countries with shaky finances but more expensive for nations with a top rating such as Germany. Unsurprisingly, Berlin is the main country to oppose such a measure.

Germany and France stressed that both nations must seek a joint position to make the summit of the 17 eurozone nations’ leaders a success.

“Germany and France _ as Europe’s unification has shown _ must reach an agreement, if that doesn’t happen Europe does not advance,” Merkel’s spokesman Seibert said.

So far, discussions on the contribution of private creditors have revolved around three options, according to a paper from a eurozone officials’ working group dated July 16.

The first would see the eurozone’s bailout fund finance a buyback of Greek government bonds at their current distressed prices, paired with guarantees that the remaining bonds would be repaid. That option would give the Greek state the biggest short-term relief, but may be the most expensive for the eurozone.

The eurozone would not only have to fund the buybacks and repayment guarantees, but the paper says they would likely be seen as a default by rating agencies. That would force the eurozone to come up with the liquidity support for Greek banks that would be cut off from the European Central Bank’s financial lifelines.

The second option reverts to a proposal made by French banks several weeks ago. Banks would reinvest part of the money they collect from maturing Greek bonds into new bonds with long repayment deadlines.

However, that proposal would still trigger a “selective default” rating, requiring liquidity and capital support for Greek banks. It would provide significant short-term relief for Greece, the paper says, but should come with lower interest rates and longer maturities for the eurozone loans.

The third option is the only one that would avoid a default rating, but will likely run into huge opposition from banks that don’t hold Greek bonds. It proposes a tax on the financial sector to recoup part of the cost of rescuing Greece. However, it would only result in small short-term relief for Greece.

By the time the leaders’ top advisers meet Thursday morning ahead of the summit, the paper will most likely be narrowed down to two possible plans: one that would trigger a default _ a combination of option one and two _ and one that won’t, said a eurozone official. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity, because talks were still ongoing.

Greece, meanwhile, is struggling to reduce its budget deficit from 10.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2010 to 7.5 percent this year as it implements harsh austerity measures that have pushed the country into recession.

Data released Wednesday showed revenues euro3 billion in arrears, with the January-June deficit reaching euro12.7 billion on a fiscal basis _ against a budgeted euro10.3 billion.

“Tomorrow’s summit will determine the future of the country and of Europe,” government spokesman Elias Mossialos said in Athens.

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Turkey froze Libya’s holdings in a Turkish bank on Monday, a day after it recognized Libya’s rebel leaders as the country’s legitimate representatives and quietly removed its ambassador from Tripoli.

Turkey’s banking regulatory fund said it was temporarily controlling Libyan Foreign Bank’s 62 percent stake in Turkey’s Arap Turk Bankasi A.S. in line with U.N. Security Council decisions to freeze Libya’s foreign assets.

Turkey on Sunday also formally withdrew its ambassador in Tripoli, according to the Official Gazette, an official record of government decisions. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said the ambassador has been reassigned a post in Ankara and it was not known when a new ambassador for Libya would be named.

Turkey had already removed its staff from the embassy for security reasons in May.

Turkey initially balked at the idea of military action in Libya and Turkish companies were involved in Libyan construction projects worth billions of dollars before the outbreak of an anti-Gadhafi uprising in February. But, the regional power has increasingly broken ties with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and as a NATO member, Turkey is supporting the alliance’s airstrikes against targets linked to his regime instant payday loan.

Turkey has repeatedly called on Gadhafi to give up power to allow the transition to a more democratic government. Last month, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had offered Gadhafi guarantees in return for him leaving Libya but had not received a response.

Since the beginning of the uprising in Libya, the European Union has frozen the accounts of the country’s state-controlled companies and investment funds, as well as those of key members of the Libyan regime. EU states also said they would not provide the Gadhafi regime with any new funding by buying up oil and gas from the country.

On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited the Libyan rebel’s stronghold of Benghazi, recognized the rebel’s National Transitional Council as Libya’s representatives, and promised an additional $200 million in aid.

Turkey joins several other countries, including France, Qatar and Italy, in officially recognizing the rebels.

The rebels control Libya’s eastern third, but Gadhafi clings to power in the west where he has been unable to crush pockets of resistance.

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Ontario teachers will take home less pay and earn smaller pensions under a deal aimed at erasing a projected $17.2 billion shortfall in their pension plan.

Details of a negotiated deal approved by union representatives and the Ontario cabinet began reaching teachers by mail during this final week of the school year, or earlier by email.

A three-part plan calls for:

A leading credit rating agency warned Monday that Greece’s crisis was putting a strain on its banks as lawmakers began debating austerity measures that must be passed if the country is to avoid running out of cash by the middle of next month.

Greece’s lawmakers have to vote in favor of a euro28 billion ($39.8 billion) package of spending cuts and tax increases before the European Union and the International Monetary Fund will release the next euro12 billion ($17 billion) batch of loans from last year’s euro110 billion ($156.3 billion) bailout package.

The austerity package is proving hugely unpopular and unions have called a 48-hour general strike in the run-up to the vote, which is expected to take place late Wednesday. Lawmakers have also to pass an additional implementation law on Thursday.

Without the bailout funds, Greece runs out of money in mid-July and faces becoming the first eurozone country to default on its debts _ a potentially disastrous event that could drag down European banks and affect other financially troubled European countries.

That fear of a potential default has been the main impetus behind a fairly sizable decline in Greek bank deposits, which the Moody’s rating agency estimated at 8 percent since the start of the year. Deposits are also falling because households are tapping into their savings during the country’s recession, which has seen the unemployment rate skyrocket to around 16 percent.

“The potential for further deposit outflows constitutes a major liquidity risk for banks as depositor sentiment is affected by negative political developments and Greece’s capability for timely repayment of its debt obligations,” Nondas Nicolaides, a vice president at Moody’s, said.

Investors appear to be cautiously optimistic that Greece’s Parliament will back the austerity measures, but many economists still think that the country will end up restructuring its euro340 billion ($483 billion) or so debt burden some time in the future, even if it gets a second financial bailout.

Because the country’s borrowing costs remain sky-high, Greece is effectively locked out of the bond markets. The original bailout had envisioned that Greece would be able to start raising money on its own next year.

European leaders are currently discussing a second bailout, which is expected to be roughly the same size as the first one but also involve the voluntary participation of private banks. French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed earlier that French banks are considering rolling over their holdings of Greek debt.

Prime Minister George Papandreou’s Socialist party has a five-seat majority in the 300-member parliament, so should be able to pass the bills No teletrack payday loans. However, Papandreou has faced a party rebellion over the measures, and at least two deputies have said they are considering not voting in favor.

Greece’s new finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, was trying Monday to persuade lawmakers to back the package, arguing that it’s “absolutely essential to service the cash needs of the public sector, which is in reality the servicing of citizens’ immediate and vital needs.”

He’s also discussing with international creditors how to plug a euro600 million ($850 million) shortfall in this year’s budget, which could see extra measures included in the bills.

The rebellion peaked in a political crisis earlier this month that almost led to a government collapse. Papandreou faced down the revolt and bought time with a broad cabinet reshuffle, the cornerstone of which was the promotion of Venizelos.

The Greek government has not been able to get the support of the main opposition party despite intense pressure from European officials. The Conservative party leader, Antonis Samaras has withheld his backing, arguing that the austerity bill is flawed despite his support for certain cost-cutting measures and privatizations.

The new austerity plan runs two years beyond the current government’s mandate to 2015 and will see increases to consumer and heating fuel taxes and a drop in the minimum limit for income tax, to euro8,000 a year from euro12,000.

The measures have already sparked widespread protests including several general strikes. Groups of protesters have also been camped out in the capital’s main Syntagma Square and have vowed to encircle the parliament building on Wednesday to prevent lawmakers from entering the building and voting on the austerity bill.

Airlines were changing departure and arrival times or canceling dozens of flights after air traffic controllers said they would hold work stoppages during the general strike.

Ahead of the general strike, a communist party-backed union, PAME, held a protest at Greece’s most famous ancient site, the Acropolis, hanging banners in English and Greek over the monument’s walls reading: “The peoples have the power and never surrender. Organize counterattack.”

“It’s a symbolic act by PAME,” said activist Giorgos Peros. “We want to show to all the people of Europe and Greece that people don’t surrender to the desires of the monopolies, multinational corporations, big capital, the government, the IMF and the EU.”

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