Strong consumer spending and a surge during Christmas put a smile on the economy with credit card transactions last year increasing 11% compared to 2018, according to JCC payment systems. A reflection of the upward trend in transactions is the staggering total of €3.93 bln for 2019, from €3.53 bln the year before. This follows
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Britain deplores Turkish drilling in the waters around Cyprus and calls for de-escalation, a British High Commission spokesperson in Nicosia told the Cyprus News Agency. He was commenting on Turkey’s new plan to start illegal drilling in the southern EEZ/continental shelf of Cyprus, in exploration block 8. “The UK has consistently stated our support for
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Largest lenders Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic Bank will sell bad loans worth €4 bln in total as banking system tries to purge itself of toxic debt, Central Bank of Cyprus governor Constantinos Herodotou said. Herodotou on Monday briefed the House Financial and Budgetary Affairs Committee, noting that the amount of non-performing loans (NPLs) have
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The green light has been given for Cyprus football matches to resume after referees staged a strike at the weekend in response to a bomb attack against one of their members. Refs withdrew their strike action after reassurances from the Cyprus Football Association and the Justice Minister that measures will be taken to clamp down
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By Cyril Widdershoven The East Med-Turkey confrontation, which has heated up over the last few days after Ankara’s new offshore drilling in Cyprus announcement, could reap the rewards of the Berlin Conference on Libya. The shaky results signed by all parties attending, including Turkey, Russia, Europeans and the main Libyan parties, has increased the visibility
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Car sales were down by 7.1% in 2019 compared to the previous year with dealers calling on the government to push the much-awaited scrappage incentive package to revive the stagnated market. After experiencing five consecutive years in positive territory, sales dropped last year to 37,802 from 40,683 in 2018, amid tough competition. Of the total
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Cyprus welcomed a record 3.97 million tourists last year, smashing the previous record set in 2018 by a slender 1%, official figures show. Against the odds, Cyprus has recovered from airline closures and the collapse of UK tour giant Thomas Cook and increased competition from traditional competitors Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey. In 2019 arrivals of
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The Greek Foreign Ministry strongly condemns Turkey’s planned drilling within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf, saying Ankara’s illegal actions neither have legal effect nor create fait accompli. In a statement, the Greek Foreign Ministry said that Turkey’s planned drills inside areas which are licensed to European companies violate international law. This move
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By Hussein Sayed, Chief Market Strategist at FXTM Three weeks into the new year and equity bulls remain well in control. Wall Street continued to post new all-time highs with the S&P 500 up more than 3% year-to-date. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Stoxx 600 managed to break above recent resistance to close at a
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Cyprus on Sunday accused Turkey of “piracy” after Ankara announced new plans to drill for oil and gas in the divided island’s maritime zone, a move escalating tension despite the threat of EU sanctions. “Turkey is turning into a pirate state in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said a statement from the Cypriot presidency on Sunday. It
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