Socialists pull out of consensus talks over changes in Portugal’s coalition government + MORE Jul 20th

This GIC rate is offered by Outlook Financial and was updated on 2013-03-14. Click on the link above to get more details or apply online.

LISBON, Portugal – The leader of Portugal’s main opposition party says talks aimed at resolving a dispute over changes in the coalition government have failed.
The coalition nearly split July 2 when Foreign Minister Paulo Portas, the leader of the junior party, threatened to resign.
A compromise was reached when Portas was appointed deputy to Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.
But President Anibal Cavaco Silva asked the government to reach a consensus with the Socialists, Portugal’s leading opposition party.
On Friday, Socialist leader Antonio Jose Seguro said his party had left the talks.
He said Cavaco Silva must now accept the compromise agreement or call early elections.
The dispute caused turmoil on financial markets as fears arose over Portugal’s ability to uphold the terms of its 78 billion euro ($102 billion) bailout.
The post Socialists pull out of consensus talks over changes in Portugal’s coalition government appeared first on Canadian Business.

What if Detroit isn’t a blip? Because an analyst best known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis says the city’s fate could be a sign of things to come.

OTTAWA – New global rules to help clamp down on corporate tax evasion and avoidance could be in place as early as next year, says the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The Paris-based organization handed the G20 finance ministers — including Canada’s Jim Flaherty — a three-step game plan during their meetings Friday, which if implemented, will establish the infrastructure for global co-operation on the controversial issue.
The plan calls for a universal and automatic exchange of financial information, development of an operation platform for common reporting and due diligence of rules, and the creation of a multilateral platform to protect confidentiality.
Dennis Howlett, the executive director of Canadians for Tax Fairness, says he’s encouraged by the progress and expects the G20 ministers to endorse the plan.
Howlett, however, also cautioned that the key to its success — or failure — will be how quickly and effectively nations implement the proposals…

Though a big deal for Detroit, the nation’s largest ever municipal bankruptcy filing may have little effect on the ability of most U.S. cities to borrow money.
Municipal bond analysts say investors may be a little jittery about bonds issued by other financially troubled cities. But they say investors also are more focused on the financial stability of individual municipalities than they were before the financial crisis hit five years ago. That means Detroit’s woes are less likely to carry over.
New data show most cities are in better financial shape now than just a few years ago.
Figures from McDonnell Investment Management show nearly half of all cities had net general fund deficits in 2010. But preliminary figures for 2012 show that fell to less than one-third of cities.
The post Municipal bond analysts say Detroit’s woes are unlikely to affect credit in other cities appeared first on Canadian Business.