Tax evasion and energy are the two main items on the agenda of the European Council which takes place on Wednesday, in Brussels. European leaders are also expected to commit to an automatic exchange of data on citizens’ income sources. They will ask the Commission to start negotiations with third countries in order to further
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The European Commission has proposed measures to help crisis-hit countries to use much needed EU funds. The Commission has proposed to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament an increase of 95% in the amount of co-financing programes in the cohesion policy for Cyprus, Greece and Portugal. The total amount reaches 520 million
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Italy-based truck and tractor maker Fiat Industrial plans to lower its tax bill by shifting its residence to Britain after a planned merger with unit CNH, a move that drew angry reactions from politicians and unions on its home turf. The criticism tapped into a widening debate on corporate tax avoidance which has become a
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The World Bank plans to announce substantial new funds to help Jordan cope with the influx of refugees from the civil war in neighbouring Syria, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim told Reuters on Tuesday. "There will be significant amounts of new funding going to Jordan in the very near future to deal with this
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Struggling Cyprus should be able to lure tourist revenue with pristine bathing waters, ranked the European Union's best in the latest EU bathing report published on Tuesday. In contrast, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands had the highest percentages of bathing sites that failed to meet EU standards in 2012, in part because torrential rains
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The dollar edged higher, gold steadied and European shares remained near five-year highs on Tuesday as investors wait to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve will give any signal on the future of its stimulus programme. The dollar was up 0.2% against major currencies as European trading gathered pace. Upbeat comments from Chicago policymaker Charles
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Hong Kong shares fell from a 3-1/2-month high on Tuesday, while China markets looked set for their first loss in five days, hurt by a series of fund raising moves and Goldman Sachs' exit from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. At midday, the Hang Seng Index was down 0.5% at 23,375.5 points after closing
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Marks & Spencer posted its lowest annual profit since 2009 on Tuesday as a struggling clothing and homewares division dragged on growth in food sales. The 129-year-old retailer, which serves 21 mln shoppers a week from over 700 UK stores, said it made a profit before tax and one-off items of 665.2 mln pounds in
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Britain's benchmark index edged off 13-year highs early on Tuesday, led by a selloff in cruise operator Carnival Corporation. Shares in Carnival shed 14.8% as the group said it expects lower revenue due to the lower ticket pricing that it is employing to attract passengers following a string of high-profile mishaps. It was the top
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The Bank of Cyprus interim board of directors held a meeting in the former Laiki headquarters building in Nicosia to convey the message to the merged group’s 5,500 employees that the restructuring and recapitalisation plans are underway. The bank plans to shed some 1,250 jobs offering early retirement incentives to employees with more than 25
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