The three main banks – Bank of Cyprus, Popular and Hellenic – as well as the Cooperatives, said they have paid back in full the 159 mln euros received from the European Investment Bank in low-interest loans for SMEs. The Association of Cyprus Banks said that the member banks even doubled the favourable loans to
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A European report on the Vatican's attempts to embrace financial transparency on Wednesday said the Holy See still had to make important reforms before it could reach international standards on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. As expected, the report by Moneyval, a department of the Council of Europe, said the Vatican had
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Britain's top share index edged higher on Wednesday, recouping part of the previous session's losses after overnight testimony from the head of the Federal Reserve kept hopes of further U.S. monetary stimulus alive. The UK blue chip index was up 8.89 points, or 0.15%, at 5,636.56 by 0808 GMT, having closed 0.6% lower in the
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Irish airline Aer Lingus predicted competition regulators would continue to block a takeover by low-cost carrier Ryanair as it repeated its call for shareholders to reject the latest 694 million euro ($849 million) offer from its rival. Ryanair published its offer document on Tuesday, fleshing out its third bid for Aer Lingus which offers shareholders
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The London Stock Exchange shrugged off weak trading in its main capital markets business to hit quarterly growth forecasts, driven largely by the addition of the FTSE index unit acquired last year. The British exchange said on Wednesday revenue rose 10% to 209.5 million pounds ($326 million) in the three months to end-June, in line
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President Vladimir Putin hosts visiting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in the Kremlin on Wednesday to talk business, energy and regional power politics. Projects by construction company Enka, such as Moscow’s distinctive Turkish-built steel and glass towers of Naberezhnaya, the second tallest skyscraper in Russia, underscore Erdogan's signature mix of business and politics that has
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban grabbed the opportunity presented by the launch of credit talks with the IMF this week to signal new moves to bolster growth at the expense of looser public finances. The long-awaited start of negotiations with the Fund on a vital financing backstop have prompted a rally in Hungarian government bonds
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Construction work can start on the United Arab Emirates' first nuclear power plant, the government said on Wednesday, opening the way for a consortium of South Korean companies to build the multi-billion dollar project. In December 2009, the UAE awarded a group led by Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) a contract to build four nuclear
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Asian shares were on the back foot on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a gloomy view of the U.S. economy, but hopes that the central bank is moving closer to more stimulus measures limited the day's losses. European shares were set for a firmer start, with Euro STOXX 50 futures opening up
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Greece's coalition government will seek a bridging loan to tide it over while it scrambles to find 11.7 billion euros of spending cuts to bring a derailed bailout plan back on track and appease exasperated international lenders. The measures must be submitted for approval by July 24, when auditors of the so-called "troika" of the
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