A Greek bond swap scheme with private creditors had already taken into account credit rating downgrades such as Standard & Poor's decision on Monday to lower Greece to 'selective default', Eurogroup President Jean Claude Juncker said in a statement. S&P cut the country's long-term ratings to 'selective default', the second ratings agency after Fitch to
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Asian shares and the euro edged higher on Tuesday as markets waited for a second liquidity injection from the European Central Bank to gauge risk appetite that has been somewhat dented by worries over high oil prices. Brent crude oil futures slipped, extending losses after snapping a week-long rally on Monday, but concerns over supply
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel scraped through a parliamentary vote endorsing a second bailout for Greece on Monday but faced a growing backbench revolt against pouring in more money in support of the euro zone. The comfortable 496-90 victory, with five abstentions, was inflated by centre-left opposition support, but only 304 of Merkel's 330 centre-right coalition
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An unknown group called the Urban Guerrillas claimed responsibility on Monday for an explosive device that was left on an empty Athens subway train over the weekend, but Greek police said the call could be a hoax. "A man placed calls with two Greek TV stations, saying the device was the work of the Urban
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Standard & Poor's on Monday cut Greece's long-term ratings to 'selective default', the second ratings agency to proceed with a widely expected downgrade after the country announced a bond swap plan to lighten its debt burden. S&P said that once the debt exchange is concluded, it would likely raise Greece's sovereign credit rating to the
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The Republic of Cyprus will cooperate with the European Commission to promote pending taxation proposals during its EU Council rotating presidency at the second half of 2012, Deputy Minister of Finance and Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Sotiroula Charalambous has said after a meeting with EU Commissioner on Taxation and Customs Union Algirdas Semeta.
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Christine Loudes, representing Amnesty International, will be in Cyprus on March 5 to participate in a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Equal Opportunities, in view of Women's Day and Cyprus' EU presidency. According to a press release, Loudes' visit is being held in the context of the European campaign END FGM,
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Asian shares crept higher on Friday as solid U.S. data improved sentiment, but gains may be limited by concerns that rising oil prices could deal a further blow to the fragile euro zone economy and moves to take profits after recent rallies. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2%, led
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Troubled national carrier Cyprus Airways said on Friday full-year results would be a "significant departure" from 2010 after being hit by intensified competition and rising fuel costs. The board will meet on Tuesday to discuss full-year results and capitalisation issues. Cyprus Airways (CAIR), which made a net profit of 215,000 euros in 2010, posted a loss
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A lobby group representing private investors in the European Union has asked the Greek prime minister to exclude them from a 53.5% haircut on Greek government bonds. Greece will launch a bond swap for institutional and individual holders of its debt on Friday in an attempt to slice off some of its liabilities, as a
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