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European Union pushes cuts for indebted countries

To keep its debt crisis from mushrooming out of control, the European Union is imposing harsh cutbacks on millions of ordinary people in debt-plagued countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

So far the pain includes cutbacks and freezes in teachers' and nurses' salaries, higher retirement ages and heavier taxes on everything from incomes to cigarettes and fuel.

Europe is barely expanding, with only 0.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter in the 16 countries that use the euro, leaving a renewed slide into recession impossible to rule out. And the recession is still on in several countries facing the cuts such as Greece, Ireland and Spain.

Icesave Talks Break Down

Talks between Iceland, Britain and the Netherlands over a fresh deal on Reykjavik's debts collapsed on Thursday, a blow for the North Atlantic island which needs a new accord to restart financial aid.

Hopes had been high that a deal on the more than $5 billion (3.3 billion pounds) "Icesave" debt was within reach following nearly two weeks of attempts to reach a new agreement which would have allowed the country to avoid a politically dangerous referendum.

Reykjavik had hoped to reach a deal in which the two countries would not be seen as turning a profit on the money owed.

A British government source said the deal offered by the UK government had been generous and that it had tried to support the Icelandic government as much as possible.

Iceland will probably have to go back to the drawing board, causing further delays to much-needed financial aid from the International Monetary Fund and its Nordic neighbours.

The dispute has also soured sentiment in Iceland over joining the European Union, with the breakdown in talks coming only a day after Brussels recommended launching accession talks with Iceland.

Justify £1.6bn bonuses in face of £7k-a-minute loss, RBS told and Bank loses £3.6bn – but finds £1.3bn to pay bonuses

The Royal Bank of Scotland is 84 per cent owned by the taxpayer.

More than 100 bankers at Royal Bank of Scotland will take home bonuses of at least £1 million even though RBS made a £3.6 billion loss last year.

The loss equates to £6,849 a minute, or almost £10 million a day.

RBS confirmed it would pay £1.3 billion in bonuses to 16,800 investment bankers, on average £77,000 each. Compensation as a percentage of revenue for RBS’s investment bankers came in at 27 per cent, the lowest in the industry and in contrast with 38 per cent at Barclays. Bankers in RBS’s branches, and other functions outside the investment bank, will share a £375 million bonus pool, giving them on average £2,600.