A push for Italy to leave the euro zone by some candidates in next year's election is misguided and an exit would be a catastrophe, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday. Italy is in a severe recession, deepened by austerity measures passed by Mario Monti's technocrat government to try to keep Italy in the euro
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U.S. housing starts fell in May from a 3-1/2 year high, although permits to build new homes rose sharply, suggesting a nascent housing recovery remains on track. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that groundbreaking on new homes dropped last month to an annual rate of 708,000 units, falling short of analysts' expectations. However, upward
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Cyprus is exploring a double option in a bid to secure the recapitalisation of its banking sector and to address its refinancing needs, Minister of Finance Vassos Sharly said on Tuesday. Speaking to the press, Sharly explained that Cyprus could resort to the EU bailout mechanism to secure a total of 1.8 billion EUR for
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The view from the rooftops makes the balance of power clear. In some neighborhoods, cars and people scurry about. In others, only the scarred shells of empty homes remain. After months of fierce military assaults and rebel ambushes in Homs, the centre of Syria's 15-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad has effectively become two cities.
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Facebook Inc is paying $55 million to $60 million to buy Face.com, according to people familiar with the matter, acquiring the company that provides the facial-recognition technology used by the world's largest social network to help users identify and tag photos. The deal bolsters one of Facebook's most popular features — the sharing and handling
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World leaders pressured Europe on Monday to take ambitious steps to resolve its debt crisis after a victory for pro-bailout parties in a Greek election failed to calm markets or ease worries that wider turmoil could derail the global economy. The world's major industrialized and developing economies were set to urge Europe to take "all
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Microsoft Corp introduced its own line of tablet computers on Monday at a much-hyped press event in Los Angeles, marking a major strategic shift for the software giant as it struggles to compete with Apple Inc and re-invent its aging Windows franchise. The new tablet line, named Surface, includes a consumer device aimed directly at
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The next time you stay in a hotel, you might want to bring some extra hand-sanitizer. A study on contamination levels in hotel rooms led by the University of Houston, presented on Sunday at the American Society of Microbiology, reported that two of the most contaminated items were TV remote controls and bedside lamp switches.
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The EU-harmonised inflation rate rose in May to 3.7%, compared with 3.6% in April 2012. This is in contrast to the national consumer price inflation rate, which fell slightly to 2.9% in May, from 3.1% in April. One of the reasons is likely to be a change in the EU methodology for the harmonised consumer
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Ireland's international lenders are considering doubling the average repayment term of some of its 85 billion euro ($107 billion) bailout to 30 years from 15, state broadcaster RTE reported, citing sources among the lenders. The move would be aimed at easing Dublin's efforts to return to long term debt markets before its EU/IMF bailout runs
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