Austerity

Greece approves its 2013 austerity budget, making it eligible for a third round of bailout loans.

European finance ministers are meeting today in Brussels to decide whether Greece will receive its next scheduled bailout payment of $40 billion.

Protesters continue to fill Athens today ahead of the Greek Parliament’s vote on public sector spending cuts.

Workers are back on strike this morning in Greece, where the government is scheduled to vote on a new round of austerity cuts this week.

All the state governments in the path of Sandy say they’re going to rebuild infrastructure. In this age of budget austerity, where will the money come from?

In further austerity measures, the government imposes some $50 billion of tax hikes and spending cuts

Greece has been shut down today because of a huge nationwide strike. Fifty thousand people took to the streets of Athens and police fired tear gas after violence broke out near the parliament. The issue, of course, is austerity: The very unpopular budget cuts going on as part of the solution to the debt crisis.

More protests are expected in Spain today after some big demonstrations last night. There's outrage over a new round of budget cuts as Spain tries to avoid becoming the next Greece.

Tomorrow is Bastille Day in France, the French will be celebrating despite the rainy weather and eurozone turmoil. This week French carmaker, Peugot, announced major layoffs, signaling the tough economic climate facing the country.

As the first batch of bailout funds arrives at Spain's banks, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced an austerity plan to slash the public deficit. This includes tax hikes and cuts to unemployment benefits.