International Business

Greece Likely to Close Shipyard: The European Commission said it will force the Greek government to close the Hellenic Shipyard unless it finds a buyer for the indebted facility by next week. The Greek government was forced this month to cancel the planned sale of the state-owned yard. It said international companies had pulled out of a Greek-led group formed to buy the shipbuilder. The cancellation unleashed a political crisis, culminating this week in the resignation of Industry Minister Costas Simitis. He had been publicly criticized by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou for failing to sell the unprofitable company.