A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday:
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BRUSSELS
— European leaders are reaching for bold solutions to end a 2-year-old
debt crisis that's spread economic misery across Europe, raised doubts
about the future of the euro currency, rattled investors and threatened
global growth. They're meeting Thursday and Friday in Brussels to
consider proposals that would help Europe's government debt problems,
its banking sector and revive its sluggish economy.
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BRUSSELS
— Top European officials have called on countries that use the euro to
surrender more control over their national budgets, a move apparently
aimed at easing Germany's fears of sharing debt burdens with struggling
governments like Spain or Italy.
The plan is meant to be a grand
vision to save the euro currency from financial disaster and to set up
negotiations between leaders at a key European Union summit that begins
Thursday.
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ATHENS, Greece — Another Greek Cabinet member
has resigned, the latest casualty for the financially struggling
country's new conservative-led government.
The resignation of
Giorgos Vernicos, deputy minister for Greece's merchant marine ministry,
follows the departure Monday of the designated finance minister due to
illness. On Tuesday, prominent economist Yannis Stournaras was named as
the new finance minister.
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MADRID — Spain's borrowing
costs soared in two short-term debt auctions as investors worried that
the country would not be able to manage an expensive rescue of its
ailing banking sector.
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LONDON — Concerns over the
ability of Europe's leaders to agree a package of measures to deal with
their debt crisis kept stock markets in check, a day after suffering
heavy losses.
Germany's DAX closed up 0.1 percent, while the
CAC-40 in France fell 0.3 percent and the FTSE 100 index of leading
British shares fell 0.1 percent.
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TOKYO — Most Asian
shares closed lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8 percent and South
Korea's Kospi was 0.4 percent lower. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5
percent.
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TOKYO — Japan's lower house voted to double
the country's sales tax to 10 percent over three years to help rein in
the bulging national debt. Japan's aging population is burdening the
country's social security system.
The bill must still pass the less powerful upper house to become law, which is expected.
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WASHINGTON
— An international group of economists, the OECD, recommended that the
United States adopt policies that would make higher-income Americans pay
more in taxes to help boost the U.S. economy.
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THE
HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch economy edged out of recession in the
first quarter of 2012, growing 0.3 percent in the January-March period.
The Netherlands has been shaken by Europe's financial crisis.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.