Major emerging economies are ready to provide financial help to the euro zone via the International Monetary Fund but in return want commitments to reform the IMF to be implemented, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. The so-called BRICS nations "are ready to take part in joint efforts, including the provision of credits,
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Greek bank shares were adding more than 7% in early Monday trade after the country's main political parties clinched a deal to form a national unity government to push through an EU aid package. "It's a solution to the political deadlock, welcome by the markets," said Theodore Krintas, head of wealth management at Attica Bank.
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Former deputy president of the European Central Bank Lucas Papademos is the front runner to become Greece's new prime minister, Greek media wrote on Monday. "Lucas Papademos will be as of tomorrow the new prime minister of the country after the agreement that the outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou and the opposition head Antonis Samaras
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Asian shares struggled and credit markets weakened on Monday, with investors still nervous despite the agreement on formation of a new Greek unity government intent on avoiding imminent debt default. Investors were also shifting their attention to another debt-burdened country, Italy, which faces political instability as well, putting it under pressure to swiftly restore its
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Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou sealed a deal with the opposition on a crisis coalition to approve an international bailout, but details remain thin despite an EU ultimatum for Athens to get serious about tackling its huge problems. With Greece due to run out of money in a few weeks, the European Union told its
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The Cyprus House of Representatives approved on Friday a resolution calling on President Demetris Christofias to take responsibility attributed to him by an indepedent inquiry into a deadly blast at a naval base last July, and resign from his post. Thirty-three MPs voted in favour of the resolution and 18 left-wing AKEL party MPs voted against the resolution
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G20 leaders are likely to meet before their next scheduled summit in February to try and restore market confidence battered by the euro zone debt crisis, Canada's finance minister said on Saturday, while Germany's Angela Merkel said it would take a decade to turn around the currency bloc. "It looks like we're going to have
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Greece's ruling socialists and opposition conservatives offered rival plans for saving the nation from bankruptcy and safeguarding its euro zone membership, ignoring an appeal from the president to cooperate on tackling the mess. For Prime Minister George Papandreou, only a coalition government ruling for at least several months can set Greece on the road to
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Cyprus may need to raise taxes to help it pull out of an economic crisis, central bank Governor Athanasios Orphanides said on Saturday, a day after Moody's warned the island would probably need to seek emergency funding at some point. Moody's downgraded Cyprus's credit rating by two notches to Baa3, one level above junk, on
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Moody's Investor Service said it cut the Cyprus sovereign ratings by two notches from Baa1 to Baa3 with possible review for a further downgrade. The rating agency said the downgrade reflects the high likelihood that Cypriot banks may need state aid to cushion themselves from their exposure to toxic Greek bonds that has been agreed will be subject
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