Friday, April 30, 2010

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The risk now is that even if Europe puts its political differences aside and funds a Greek bailout package, key problems remain unaddressed -- such as a lack of cohesion in dealing with the fiscal problems of member states.

"The broader incapacity of euro area institutions is what's really on display here," said Orenstein. "It's going to be hard to keep the euro zone going without greater fiscal and monetary authority."

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Europe is finally cobbling together a credible Greek bailout. But even a big wad of cash may not be enough to prevent another round of market mayhem.

Officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday they hope to agree this weekend with the Greek government on the terms of a bailout package. The IMF said the package could cost as much as $160 billion over three years -- well above the sums previously discussed.

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Meanwhile, free or cheap alternatives to pay-TV subscriptions are growing wildly popular. More than 180 million U.S. viewers watched 31 billion videos on the Internet last month, according to online data tracker comScore. That's more than double the 15 billion Internet videos that were watched at the same time last year.

Hulu, which is jointly owned by and shows programming from NBC, Disney and Fox, has more than quadrupled its viewership in the past year. U.S. viewers watched more than 1 billion free TV programs or movies on Hulu in March, up from about 250 million a year earlier, comScore said. That's nearly 27 videos per viewer, up from under 15 videos last year.

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It is rare for the government to indict a company, and even the threat of criminal prosecution can doom a business. A criminal investigation destroyed the Wall Street firm Drexel Burnham Lambert in the 1980s even though the firm settled with authorities.

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The biggest reason why customers will cut the cord, according to the study, is the growing cost of pay-TV service. Cable and satellite viewers pay an average of $71 per month, and they receive an average annual price hike of 5%, according to research firm Centris.

That annual price jump could be even higher if battles between pay-TV operators and networks continue.

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Despite rising cable and satellite TV prices and easy access to streaming TV and movies on the Internet, few consumers have cut the cord. But that looks like it's about to change.

One in eight consumers will eliminate or scale back their cable, satellite or other pay-TV service this year, according to a new study released this week by Yankee Group.

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The Audubon Society, which is affiliated with the Louisiana Coastal Initiative, is recruiting volunteers in Florida and making its Center for Birds of Prey available for bird cleansing and rehabilitation. Elsewhere, Audubon said it was gearing up to mobilize volunteers and provide assistance as the oil reaches land.