**Pharmaceuticals and electronics hold up** The index of industrial production for May 2012 fell by 9.8% over the year earlier in May 2011, with manufacturing declining by 8.4%. However, the overall index hides a strong showing by “Chemical Products and Pharmaceutical Products and Preparations”, which rose by 15.5% compared with May 2011 and electrical equipment,
More
Gross output in the hotels and restaurants sectors reached EUR 1.815,7 mln in 2010, up from EUR 1.751,6 mln in 2009 according to the Statistical Service’s annual report entitled Hotels and Restaurants Statistics. The sector’s value added at current market prices increased by 1.9% to EUR 927.8 mln, from EUR 910.2 mln in 2009. However,
More
The Syrian military has stepped up its campaign to drive rebels out of Aleppo, where fighters said they were holding firm, vowing to turn the country's largest city into the "regime's grave". Opposition activists denied a government declaration that its forces had recaptured the Salaheddine district, in southwest Aleppo, straddling the most obvious route for
More
A German court has handed a 20-year-old apprentice a 227,000-euro ($280,000) bill to cover police costs after he organized an illegal party through the Facebook social network in the southern German town of Constance. The man identified only as Matthias L. told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he attended a number of other
More
Economic sentiment in the euro zone fell to near a 3-year low in July as the bloc's economy deepened its slump and businesses became more pessimistic. The 2-1/2 year debt crisis that spread from Athens – now struggling to stay in the euro zone – has continued to spread across Europe. Spain's recession deepened in
More
Several banks under investigation for suspected rigging of euro interest rates are cooperating with EU antitrust regulators in the hope of lower fines, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday, putting them at a higher risk of lawsuits. The move by the banks to voluntarily disclose more about their knowledge of possible manipulation
More
The World Bank on Monday said it stood ready to help governments respond to a broad-based run-up in grain prices that has again put the world's poorest people at risk and could have lingering detrimental impacts for years. "We cannot allow short-term food-price spikes to have damaging long-term consequences for the world's most poor and
More
Gem Diamonds Ltd reported an increase in production for the first half and said it suspended the formal process of exploring options for its Ellendale mine in Australia. The company said it continued to "explore all options to maximise value" at Ellendale, which produces an estimated 50 percent of the world's supply of yellow diamonds.
More
Grid failure left more than 300 million people without power in New Delhi and much of northern India on Monday in the worst blackout for more than a decade, highlighting chronic infrastructure woes holding back Asia's third-largest economy. The lights in Delhi and seven states went out in the early hours and had not been
More
European stocks rose early on Monday, rallying for a third straight session, propelled by mounting expectation the European Central Bank this week will unveil fresh measures to ease the tension surrounding the borrowing costs of Spain and Italy. At 0703 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,061.13
More