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    Draghi praises Spain's efforts to cut deficit

    FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is praising Spain's efforts to get its deficit under control and said conditions the country would need to meet to get help with its borrowing costs "don't need to be punitive."

    The ECB has said it could buy countries' bonds on the secondary market, lowering their interest rates — if governments agree with the other 16 countries that use the euro on steps to improve their finances.

    Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is holding off asking for help out of concern that Spain may be slapped with harsh austerity conditions from the eurozone.

    The ECB chief said at a news conference Thursday that "signficant progress has taken place" in Spain, adding that a number of measures had been "announced, legislated, and implemented" in only a short period of time.

    Draghi made the remarks at his news conference after the ECB left its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.75 percent.

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    • Elton John Is Like a Nagging Mom for Billy Joel

      Andrew Goldman has an extensive interview with Billy Joel in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, which — after you finish admiring the accompanying photo of Joel and his pug posing in a sidecar — covers the piano man's finances, divorces, and drinking. It also tackles the question of why Joel isn't recording new pop music, something about which Elton John, who toured with Joel for many years, has an opinion. Goldman asked Joel: "Are you cool with Elton now? Basically he said that you’re not writing new songs out of fear or laziness. ...

    • Automaker Tesla takes fight to North Carolina

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