The European Central Bank … making no assurances that it will come to the party.

In the parlance of parenthood, the latest master plan to save Europe from economic annihilation is about the German and French parents imposing boundaries on the poorly behaved smaller children in the European Union.

They set out their parental plan in Brussels at the weekend; a strict set of fiscal parameters all need to abide by.

In theory it sounds fine. The kids can’t spend more than their allocated pocket money and there are penalties for non-compliance.

But re-educating headstrong, profligate European nations that have long done whatever they want might have all manner of problems.

Kids don’t always abide by the rules.

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A bankruptcy judge broadened powers held by the trustee overseeing the EpiCentre as disputes intensified over a range of issues – from alleged self-dealing to claims of blackmail to questions over who owns valuable air rights above the popular complex.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge George Hodges in October appointed Elaine Rudisill to manage the 302,000-square-foot project at the request of the EpiCentre’s lender, Blue Air 2010.

On Thursday, Hodges gave Rudisill full control of the project.

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Forecasters in Japan and South Korea have revised their economic forecasts downward, reflecting the economic slowdown in the West, analysts said.

The central bank in South Korea Friday revised its 2012 growth forecast for South Korea to 3.7 percent from an earlier projection of 4.6 percent, The New York Times reported.

In Japan, revised gross domestic product data indicated the economy grew less than expected during the past quarter. The annual growth was changed from 6 percent to 5.6 percent and the quarterly growth rate was lowered to 1.4 percent from the previous estimate of 1.5 percent.

The worsening economic environment already prompted several rate cuts in the Asia-Pacific region as policy-makers work to buttress their economies, analysts told the Times.

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WORCESTER — For the fifth consecutive year, Bustard’s Christmas Trees has committed to donating 50 trees to the Trees For Troops program.

Jay Bustard — whose family runs the tree farm at 2210 Bustard Road in Worcester — is hoping their customers will be equally generous.

On Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., patrons of Bustard’s Christmas Trees will have the opportunity to purchase and donate holiday trees that will be sent to military bases throughout the country and overseas.

In each of the last four years, Bustard’s Christmas Trees has sent between 250 and 260 trees, according to Jay Bustard. He sa

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AAP

Auto giants Toyota and BMW say they have reached an agreement to collaborate on research for cleaner, next-generation car batteries, underlining the growing push in the industry for green technology.

The agreement brings together Toyota Motor Corp, Japan’s No 1 carmaker and a leader in gas-electric hybrids, and BMW AG of Germany, a European maker that has a strong luxury brand image in both Japan and Europe.

We are now joining forces to further develop environmentally-friendly technologies and to expand our innovation leadership in each of our segments, Norbert Reithofer, chairman of BMW, said in a statement.

The two carmakers will also work on improving lithium-ion battery technology, typically used in batteries for electronic gadgets and relatively new to autos.

Toyota has struggled to find a good lithium-ion battery for its green cars and is using technology from Japanese electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co in its latest plug-in hybrid, for which Toyota has recently started taking orders.

Toyota had worked with Panasonic Corp on a battery before the electronics maker acquired Sanyo, partly to get better lithium-ion technology.

This collaboration will allow for the development of the next-generation battery faster and at a higher level, Toyota Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada told reporters in Tokyo.

Toyota and BMW have been engaged in extended discussions on technology and plan to collaborate on other medium-term and long-term projects, he said.

BMW will also begin supplying clean diesel engines to Toyota in 2014 for models for the European market.

Diesel engines for passenger cars are huge in Europe but have yet to take off in the US or Japan, the two major markets where Toyota is strong, and so Toyota does not have enough clean diesel for its European offerings.

Under their co-operative agreement, BMW is supplying 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre fuel-efficient diesel engines for Toyota.

The announcement was timed with the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the public on Saturday.

Wichita and Sedgwick County officials said they are optimistic they can nail down a proposed $52.7 million, 450-job Bombardier Learjet expansion at Mid-Continent Airport, a deal that awaits state agreement on an incentives package that local officials said could run between $16million and $18million.

City and county officials already have approved their portion of the plan, contributing $1million each. But Learjet has approached the state for the second time in about 16 months for millions of dollars in incentives.

Bombardier spokeswoman Danielle Boudreau said this week that there are ongoing discussions with the state. Nothing to announce yet.

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