Austerity

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• EXCLUSIVE-Austerity in India: Defence and welfare spending to be slashed

  NEW DELHI, Jan 31- India's finance minister is putting welfare, defence and road projects on the chopping block in a last-ditch attempt to hit a tough fiscal deficit target by March, risking short-term economic growth and angering cabinet colleagues.

• UK Proposes Tougher Accounting Test on Banks

  Accountants will have to determine more thoroughly if a bank can stand on its own two feet for well over a year without taxpayer help under draft changes from Britain's audit regulator.

• Euro Zone Periphery Fixes Major Cause of Crisis

  

  Greece, Portugal and Spain are reversing the loss of wage competitiveness that was a significant cause of the euro zone crisis, the Conference Board said on Wednesday.

• Monte Paschi Ignored Risk Warnings: Documents

  

  Monte dei Paschi's risk control unit and its own internal audit team were alarmed about the department responsible for a series of opaque structured finance deals at the troubled bank as long ago as November 2009, bank documents show.

• PREVIEW-U.S. job growth likely modest but steady in January

  WASHINGTON, Jan 29- Hiring by U.S. employers likely held steady in January, pointing to modest growth in the economy despite worries that budget battles in Washington could derail the recovery. Many economists think companies would create more jobs if Washington could resolve a seemingly intractable fight over how to tame the federal budget deficit.

• Italian Elections: No Scope for Expansion 

  

  Dr Jonathan Hopkin, reader in comparative politics at LSE, tells CNBC that regardless of the outcome of Italian elections, austerity will have to remain the order of the day.

• Macro 'Change of Attitude' Will Drive Markets: Pro  

  

  Scott Evans, head of Equity Sales at Espirito Santo Investment Bank, tells CNBC there has been a change on a macro level, as highlighted by Japan, towards fiscal expansion and inflation, which will drive markets in the short-term.

• Markets to Move Up Further: ABN Amro 

  

  Han De Jong, Chief Economist, ABN Amro says markets are ripe for a pullback but they're still at the early stage of a very significant move up.

• Will Greek Opposition Party Take the Reins? 

  

  CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera talks with Yiannis Milios, Greek Opposition Party economic advisor, about his party's economic plans to end austerity. "Austerity creates a lot of unemployment," Milios said.

• UK's Osborne: Credibility Is Hard Won and Easily Lost  

  

  George Osborne, Britain's finance minister, tells CNBC's Maria Bartiromo why the U.K. must stick to its deficit plan.

• Irish PM: Bailout Conditions 'Unfair'

  

  The borrowing terms and conditions that were imposed on Ireland after it applied for financial aid were unfair according to Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, as the country didn't receive the same deal as Greece.

• Spain Recession Deepened in Final Quarter

  

  Spain's economy shrank in the final months of 2012 at the fastest pace since its recession began, data showed on Wednesday, pummeled by falling domestic demand and with no return to growth on the horizon.

• UPDATE 2-Britain borrows more, threatening new budget target

  *Monthly borrowing up at 15.4 bln pounds, just above f'cast. LONDON, Jan 22- Britain's government borrowed slightly more than expected in December as the economy continued to struggle, thwarting efforts to erase a large budget deficit and adding to pressure on the country's top credit rating.

• UK Financial Sector Job Losses to Top 132,000

  

  U.K. banks and other finance firms will shed another 18,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2013 after cutting 25,000 in the last quarter, according to a report by a business lobby group.

• Could Financial Markets Handle a US Debt Default?

  

  While the stigma of a U.S. debt default would be damaging to investor sentiment, the chaos from a breakdown in financial markets' systems that might result would be even scarier.

• Which Troubled Economy Will Seek New Debt Relief First?

  

  Ireland, seen by some as a relative success story for austerity, may want to access the funds, known as Outright Monetary Transactions.

• ECB's Nowotny: Don't Overplay German GDP  

  

  Ewald Nowotny, governor of the Austrian Central Bank and ECB policymaker, speaks to CNBC about the outlook for the euro zone in 2013 and the levels of growth expected.

• ‘Mac’ Tries to Blaze Trail for Merkel Third Term

  

  An election on Sunday in Germany's second-biggest state will be a crucial test of Chancellor Angela Merkel's chances of winning a third term.

• Latvia: An Austerity Success Story?  

  

  Valdis Dombrovskis, the prime minister of Latvia, speaks exclusively to CNBC's Geoff Cutmore about his growth expectations for the country, following a very aggressive austerity drive.

• Undercover With the Neo-Nazis

  

  Disguises, pseudonyms and Hitler's salute were all part of one man's secret mission to infiltrate Europe’s far-right scene, the Global Post reports.