Greece's new government has been sounding strangely like its defeated anti-austerity opponents since it came to power this week on a pledge to remain in the euro zone and uphold its commitments to foreign creditors. Having campaigned as the best leader to reassure European partners that Greece would be a reliable partner, Prime Minister Antonis
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Ratings agency Moody's downgraded 15 of the world's biggest banks on Thursday, lowering credit ratings by one to three notches to reflect the risk of losses they face from volatile capital markets activities, but banks criticized the move as backward looking. Morgan Stanley, one of the most closely watched firms in the much anticipated
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The leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Spain will try to find common ground in Rome on Friday to restore confidence in the euro zone ahead of a full EU summit next week, which Italy's prime minister called a defining moment. Dangerously high borrowing costs for Spain and Italy have eased a little on market
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Cyprus has applied on a political level for a bilateral loan from Russia, a senior Cypriot source said on Thursday, after a Russian official said no formal request for aid had been made. Cash-strapped Cyprus needs the equivalent of 10 percent of its GDP to bail out its second-largest bank by June 30, with its
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The European Commission urged Thursday Cyprus to apply EU rules on sanctions and measures against employers who exploit irregular migrants. The Commission decided to advance infringement proceedings and issue a reasoned opinion requesting Cyprus to bring its law into line with the Employer Sanctions Directive, which should have been implemented by 20 July 2011. The
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MEPs, currently visiting Cyprus ahead of the upcoming Cyprus EU Presidency, believe that developments in the energy sector on the island and the region are important, both economically and politically. Head of a delegation of the EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Roberts Goebbels, speaking to CNA after a briefing by the Minister
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The European Commission decided Thursday to refer Cyprus to the European Court of Justice for its failure to transpose a directive on driving licence. According to the Commission, the directive should have been fully transposed by 19 January 2011. Failure to implement the directive may affect road safety and makes it difficult for the Cypriots
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The downturn in the euro zone's private sector is becoming entrenched and Chinese factories are finding the going increasingly tough, business surveys showed on Thursday, painting a darker outlook for the world economy. June was the fifth consecutive month that activity across the euro zone has declined, dragging down heavyweights Germany and France and putting
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Tucked into corners of Monaco's plush Meridien hotel and on lonely tables in sun-kissed bars overlooking the Mediterranean, anxious hedge fund managers contemplate the next six months that could make or break their careers. Behind the glitz of the annual hedge fund shindig, the 500 or so financiers who made the trip privately confess their
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Greece has been placed on review for relegation to emerging market status by index provider MSCI, which would make it the first country to be thrown back out of developed equity indices. Analysts, however, reckon any such relegation would only happen if Greece were to exit the euro zone. MSCI, which has $7 trillion benchmarked
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