Greek bailout extension gets Germany's approval + MORE Feb 27th

LONDON – London-based Lloyds Banking Group passed a milestone Friday in its recovery from the financial crisis, reporting an annual profit and announcing plans to pay a dividend for the first time since it was rescued by British taxpayers.
The bank posted net income of 1.13 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) compared with a loss of 838 million pounds in 2013. The bank plans to pay a dividend of 0.75 pence per share, resulting in a total payout of 535 million pounds.
“This is a symbolic development that bears testament to our successful transformation and improved risk profile of the business,” Chief Executive Officer Antonio Horta-Osorio said in a statement.
The government responded with glee, particularly as the announcement comes two months before the May 7 general election in which Britain’s recovery from the 2008 financial crisis will be a central issue. Though the payout requires shareholder approval, Chancellor George Osborne described it as good news for savers, shareholders and those whose pensions are invested in Lloyds…

NEW DELHI – A government report says India’s economy will grow more than 8 per cent in the upcoming financial year and appears to have shaken off its persistent problems of high inflation, rising budget deficits and poor domestic demand.
The Economic Survey, an annual report on the state of Asia’s third-largest economy, said Friday that India appeared to have hit an economic “sweet spot” and was ready for “big bang reforms.”
“A clear mandate for reform and a benign external environment now is expected to propel India on a double-digit trajectory,” it said. The country, with about 1.25 billion people, needs high growth rates to create sufficient jobs for its burgeoning youth population.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi won national elections in May by a staggering majority on the back of a promise to revive the country’s sputtering economy and create more jobs. But his government’s interim budget in July was a damp squib…

Germany’s Parliament overwhelmingly approves the four-month extension of Greece’s financial bailout, despite unease over the new government in Athens.

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(Illustration by Mark Smith)
Retirement brings many life changes, and it’s not just about more time to golf, travel and hang out with the grandkids. Once you’re no longer earning employment income you’ll start relying on your investments to generate cash flow. That means changing the way you manage your portfolio.
But just because you’ll be making withdrawals doesn’t mean you need to make a fundamental shift in your investment strategy. This idea often worries investors who use exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds for their stock holdings. They may believe these “growth-oriented” funds are no longer appropriate and feel they should switch to dividend funds, or even individual dividend stocks when they retire. Others look to replace traditional fixed-income funds with high-yield bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), or even more exotic income strategies such as writing call options.
The concern is understandable: after all those years of adding money to the portfolio, it seems only natural to change gears once you start taking it out…