Like many Greek tycoons these days, Andreas Vgenopoulos is in trouble. The self-made businessman built one of Greece's leading corporate empires over the past two decades. Among its jewels was a major bank in the nearby Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus. Then it all started to unravel. In 2010, Marfin Investment Group (MIG), the firm
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Europe may need to sacrifice Greece's membership of its single currency bloc in order to convince Germany to put in more money to save the euro, Britain's finance minister George Osborne suggested in remarks certain to enrage euro zone leaders. As the EU's biggest economy and largest contributor, Germany holds the key to how the
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Apple Inc has spent nearly three years fighting its rivals in a global smartphone patent war. Now, setbacks in two key U.S. court cases are laying bare why a drawn-out battle could be bad news for the iPhone maker. Last Thursday, Judge Richard Posner in Chicago federal court canceled Apple's long-awaited trial against Google Inc's
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Greeks pulled their cash out of the banks and stocked up with food ahead of a cliffhanger election on Sunday that many fear will result in the country being forced out of the euro. Bankers said up to 800 million euros ($1 billion) were leaving major banks daily and retailers said some of the money
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Germany told Italians on Wednesday they must keep taking Prime Minister Mario Monti's tough economic medicine to avoid becoming the next victim of the euro zone debt crisis after a bailout for Spain's banks failed to calm markets. "If Italy continues along Monti's path there will be no risks," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said
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Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou has made it clear that no decision has been made about Cyprus’ admission to the European Support Mechanism nor any investigation of intent has been conducted concerning this issue. Commenting on press reports on the issue, Stephanou said that the Government is considering several options for the recapitalization of banks, adding
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Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly has said that the economy of Cyprus has proven its ability to successfully meet the challenges, as evidenced by its performance during the current tough economic conditions. Addressing a dinner hosted on Tuesday by the Cyprus-Russian Business Association, in Nicosia, the Minister said that one of government’s key objectives is to
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Euro zone finance ministers rushed Spain into an EU-funded rescue for its debt-stricken banks to pre-empt the threat of a bank run if Greece's debt crisis flares again but any respite for Madrid and the euro may be short-lived. After weeks of insisting that Spain needed no assistance to recapitalise lenders crippled by bad debts
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Asian shares edged higher in choppy trade on Wednesday and European stocks were also poised to gain, but the euro slipped as worries over contagion from Spain's banking sector were heightened after the country's bond yields hit record peaks. Spreadbetters predicted major European markets would open as much as 0.7 percent higher. But U.S. stock
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Italian police said on Wednesday they were arresting members of an anarchist organisation suspected of carrying out a string of recent attacks, including sending letter bombs to the tax collection agency Equitalia and Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. In a statement, Perugia-based police also said they had conducted more than 40 searches across Italy. More details
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