SPREADING：While the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement(運動) was blocking(阻塞) the Brooklyn Bridge, about 3,000 activists(行動主義者) marched outside Bank of America’s offices in Boston(波士頓)

More than 700 anti-Wall Street activists(主詞) were arrested(逮捕) on Saturday evening in New York amid(…當中) chaotic(混亂的) scenes(一場) on Brooklyn Bridge after the protest movement’s march against(反對) “corporate greed(公司貪婪)” was broken up by police.

The activists, many of whom have been camped out in Manhattan for two weeks, were detained(留住) during(在…期間) their latest and biggest demonstration(證明) yet against government-backed bank bail-outs and corporate influence(作用) in US politics.

The “Occupy Wall Street” movement said it had staked its ground in downtown Manhattan “as a symbolic(象徵性) gesture of our discontent(不滿) with the current(當前的) economic(經濟上) and political(政治上) climate.”

Some of the demonstrators(論政者) carried hand-drawn placards(公告) that read “End the Fed” and “Pepper spray Goldman Sachs” in what police described(描述) as a peaceful protest(抗議) that nevertheless(仍然) saw hundreds detained for public order offenses.

“More than 700 people were arrested. Most of them for disorderly conduct,” a New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson(發言人) said.

ATHENS/FRANKFURT -- Greece should receive(收到) a vital lifeline next month in order to avoid(躲開) bankruptcy(倒閉), international(國際的) lenders said Tuesday, buying time in a debt(債務) crisis(危機) that Europe's(歐洲的) top central banker labeled “systemic.”

After a review of the country's finances(財政), inspectors(稽查員) from the European Union(歐盟), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) said an 8-billion-euro loan tranche(一部分) should be paid in early November. But they warned(警告) Greece had made only patchy(拼湊) progress in meeting the terms of a bailout agreed in May last year.

“The success of the program(程序表) continues(持續) to depend(相信) on mobilizing(調動) adequate(足夠的) financing(財政) from private sector involvement(纏繞) and the official sector,” the troika said.

It said additional(附加的) measures were likely to be needed to meet debt targets in 2013 and 2014 and a privatizati(非國營)on drive and structural(建立) reforms(改革) were falling short. Decisive implementation of existing(現有的) plans should allow next year's debt goals to be met, it said.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011
AP
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate legislation(立法) penalizing(對…處刑) China for promoting exports by keeping its currency(貨幣) undervalued(低估) is headed for a final vote in the Senate, putting the Beijing government on notice(公告) that U.S. lawmakers(立法者) are fed up with Chinese trade policies(政策) that undercut American manufacturers(廠商) and take away jobs.

A bipartisan(兩個政黨) majority(過半數) that supports(支持) the legislation(制定法律) coming to a vote Tuesday evening says forcing China to appreciate(賞識) its currency(貨幣) could put large numbers of Americans back to work.

The theme of crafting(手藝) trade policy to create jobs will also be played out Tuesday and Wednesday as the House and Senate vote to approve free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. The trade deals have been pending since the last Bush presidency(公司總裁), but the Obama administration(經營) and a majority(多數) of Congress are now in accord that the deals, particularly(特別) with Korea, will be a boon both to American exports(輸出) and job growth.

The currency bill “has the potential(遣在的) to create or save around 2 million jobs, without cost to taxpayers(納稅人), because it is simply standing up for American companies and American workers,” said Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, a chief sponsor(主辦者) of the currency measure.

Despite(惡意) its popularity in the Senate, the bill faces an uncertain future: House Speaker John Boehner opposes it and may never bring it to the House floor. President Barack Obama and the White House, while avoiding(躲開) a position on the bill, have warned(警告) against unilateral(單方的) action that might violate international trading(貿易) rules. American companies doing business in China say it could spark a trade war.

But with the trade deficit with China hitting US$273 billion last year and heading toward US$300 billion this year, senators said it was time to get tough.

“If China continues its predatory practices(實施), the future for our children and grandchildren in this country will not be bright,” said Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who has tried numerous times in past years to slap sanctions on the Chinese.

The legislation(立法) would make it easier for the Treasury Department to declare a currency(貨幣) misaligned — the bill does not specifically mention China — requiring(需要) action if the offending country does not take action, or for individual(個體) industries to petition(請願) the Commerce Department for redress if a competitor(競爭者) nation is using its currency as an export subsidy(補助金).

Economists say China's currency, the yuan, is undervalued(低估) by about 25-30 percent, and possibly by as much as 40 percent against the dollar. That means that Chinese goods sold in the United States become 25-30 percent cheaper(廉價的), and U.S. goods exported to China that much more expensive.