NPR 2011-11-17

 Greece's coalition 1 government wins a vote of confidence today, but it's already facing divisions between the supporting parties. That would make it difficult to release money from Brussels Greece needs in order not to go bankrupt by Christmas. We have details from John Psaropoulos in Athens.

 
A party's disagreed over the terms of the next installation of Greece's bailout - 11 billion dollars. Papoulias is asking the leaders of the major parties in parliament to sign a letter saying they stand by those bailout terms. But the leader of the conservative New Democracy party, Antonis Samaras, is refusing to sign. Samaras' signature is important for two reasons: Greece's European creditors 2 want his signature because he was in opposition 3 to many of the country's austerity measures, saying they have made Greece's recession worse and put people out of work; and polls suggest he is set to become the next prime minister after elections that could take place as early as February. For NPR News, I'm John Psaropoulos in Athens.
 
And economist 4 Mario Monti is now at the helm of Italy's new government responsible for pulling Italy from the brink 5 of default. Monti will try to convince global markets that his country can take control of its debt crisis.
 
Oil prices have cracked 100 dollars a barrel in the US as West Texas Intermediate soared at one point for 102. NPR's John Ydstie reports a price hike follows the sale of a major pipeline 6, which could relieve a glut 7 of West Texas crude in Oklahoma.
 
The change in ownership of the CUV pipeline, which runs from the US Gulf 8 Coast to Cushing, Oklahoma, is partly behind the hike in the price of US oil. Enbridge, which bought a stake in the pipeline from ConocoPhillips, says it plans to reverse the flow of the pipeline, allowing refiners further south access to the oil. That will ease a glut of West Texas Intermediate in Cushing, which is the place where WTI oil contracts are physically 9 settled. The move is also closing the gap between the price of West Texas Intermediate and Europe's Brent crude, which had widened because of the glut. The rising oil price is bad news for US consumers and for the US economy, which is struggling to create enough momentum 10 to bring down unemployment. John Ydstie NPR News, Washington. 
 
But the mood is a bit better among homebuilders in the US, turning out that they are less pessimistic about the future of the housing market but not enough to signal a significant rebound 11. The National Association of Home Builders says its builder sentiment index rose to 20 in November. The trade group says the main factor was the low mortgage rate, but any reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment in general about the housing market. 
 
At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down four points at 12,092; NASDAQ off two points.
 
This is NPR News.
 
Severe weather is moving through the Southeastern US. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports suspected tornadoes 13 have struck several states, causing mostly minor 14 injuries but no deaths.
 
Tornado 12 damage is reported in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as a line of strong storms moved through the region. In Louisiana, there are reports of power outages and isolated 15 damage and at least three perishes, including blown-out windows in a school building. In Southeast Mississippi, authorities say at least 15 people were hurt, and some Laurel residents were briefly 16 trapped in their homes by fallen trees. Homes were also damaged in West Alabama, a region still recovering from a deadly tornado outbreak last spring. Officials say high winds blew the roof of a motel and damaged cars at an auto 17 dealership 18 in Demopolis. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.
 
There's a tornado warning, by the way, in effect for the Atlanta area. 
 
Another news: A congressional advisory 19 panel is calling for greater scrutiny 20 of China's military expansion and what it characterizes as anticompetitive trade policies. It says China's buildup is aimed at countering the US's defenses. The warning came after President Obama announced a new security agreement with Australia to offset 21 China's expanding military presence in Asia.
 
Israel and Arab states expected to take part in two days of nuclear talks next week that could help shape prospects 22 of a global conference next year on the Middle East. An Arab envoy 23 says the participants are expected to pinpoint 24 issues that could be an obstacle to establishing a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.
 
I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.