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ATHENS, Greece – After so much pain, Greece must now figure out how to get its economy back on its feet.
The scale of the country’s financial problems is mind boggling — a full quarter of the economy evaporated in the past six years and business activity is now plummeting further. Government cuts needed to qualify for a new bailout will hurt incomes for years to come.
The advice to Greece from economists is simple: focus on the basics.
Have a steady government, simplify the rules of doing business, and rather than try to reinvent the economy, zoom in on sectors that can benefit from small investments: tourism and agriculture, for example.
In many cases, that’s easier said than done.
Political instability, a hallmark of Greece’s crisis, is highly toxic for investors, who need to know that the rules for business won’t change unexpectedly.
Greece’s current government offers a stark example of the risks. The country had just emerged from recession when the new government, led by the radical left leader Alexis Tsipras, came to power in January with plans to undo a series of reforms and challenge creditors…

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Greek stock market bloodbath as exchange reopens
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece suffered its worst stock market bloodbath in decades on Monday, when it opened after a forced five-week closure, and new data showed a dismal outlook for the bailout-dependent country’s shrinking economy.
The main stock index shed over 22 per cent just minutes into the opening, as investors got their first opportunity since late June to react to the latest twists in the country’s nearly six-year economic drama.
The index closed 16.2 per cent lower, with bank shares hitting or nearing the daily trading limit of a 30 per cent loss. Collectively, Greek-listed companies lost about a sixth of their market value — almost 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion).
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AT&T, as new owner of DirecTV, offers TV-wireless discount
NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T customers will save $10 a month and get a single bill for their TV and wireless services under a new package the company is offering after its $48.5 billion purchase of satellite TV company DirecTV 10 days ago…

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Investment giant Pimco said Monday the Securities and Exchange Commission may take legal action against its total-return fund.
The investment management company said it received a Wells notice, which means SEC investigators are recommending that the agency take civil action against the company.
Pimco said it will have an opportunity to demonstrate to the SEC why it believes its actions were appropriate and standard for its industry, and that regulators shouldn’t take any action against it.
Pimco said the SEC is looking into the valuation of positions in non-agency mortgage-backed securities the found bought between its creation on Feb. 29, 2012 and June 30 of that year. The SEC is also investigating the fund’s performance disclosures for that period and its compliance policies and procedures.
The SEC is not formally accusing Pimco or the Pimco Total Return Active Exchange-Traded Fund of wrongdoing.
Pimco, or Pacific Investment Management Co., said in September that it was co-operating with an SEC probe…

NEW YORK, N.Y. – These days it seems whatever can be burned to power a car, heat a home, make electricity or ship people and goods around the globe is being sold at bargain basement prices.
Prices for coal, natural gas, oil and the fuels made from crude such as gasoline and diesel are all far less expensive than they have been in recent years.
Consumers are rejoicing. Fossil fuel companies are reeling. Countries that import energy, such as the U.S., China, Japan and those in the European Union, are getting an economic boost. Exporters, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela are facing lower income and budget shortfalls.
Commodities in general are slumping. The S&P global commodity index hit its lowest level since 2002 on July 27, lower even than during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The recent price declines are a result of complex factors that have led to a simple outcome: There is more than enough fossil fuels at the ready than customers need.
“We just have too much energy hitting the world,” says Suzanne Minter, manager for oil and gas consulting at Bentek Energy, a division of Platts…

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