The leader of JPMorgan Chase & Co's hedging unit is retiring after trading losses that could end up exceeding $3 billion, a shortfall that President Barack Obama said might have led the government to step in had such losses struck a smaller bank. The Federal Reserve meanwhile said it is now looking into whether JPMorgan
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Euro zone finance ministers dismissed talk of Greece leaving the euro zone as "propaganda and nonsense" on Monday, but said the country had to respect the terms of the bailout programme agreed with the EU and the International Monetary Fund. If Greece can form a government and that government signs up to the bailout agreement,
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Shares and commodities fell again on Tuesday as investors sought refuge from the political turmoil fuelling fears of Greece's exit from the euro and threatening to undo progress made so far to solve Europe's debt crisis. The euro slipped to a four-month low of $1.2815 and the risk-sensitive Australian dollar hit a five-month low of
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Cyprus president Demetris Christofias is stepping down at the end his term and will not seek re-election next February, saying his mandate four years ago had been to broker a peace deal with the Turkish Cypriots over the island’s division. He said in his 15-minute televised statement that “there was no progress” with the current
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The European Commission hopes Greece will remain part of the euro zone but Athens must respect its obligations, the European Union's executive Commission said on Monday. "We don't want Greece to leave the euro, quite the contrary – we are doing our utmost to support Greece," European Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen told a regular
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A close ally of President Vladimir Putin staked a claim on Monday to stay on as the Russian government's No.2, signalling continuity on economic policy and potentially weakening Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's future role. With just a week to go until expiry of a deadline to form a new government following Putin's swearing in for
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Greece's president met little enthusiasm from political leaders summoned to a final round of talks on Monday to avert a new election, reinforcing fears the country was firmly on the path to bankruptcy and an exit from the euro zone. European shares slid and Spanish and Italian bond yields rose as the political deadlock threatened
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Greece cannot stay in the euro zone if it tears up its bailout deal, as envisaged by the leader of the country's leftist SYRIZA grouping, Finland's European affairs minister said. "I think that is an impossible equation and I think in that sense it is an irresponsible statement," Alexander Stubb said on Monday. "We fully
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The Cyprus Popular Bank, the island's second largest lender, said it is in talks with the finance ministry and the central bank about state guarantees to raise fresh capital after being battered by the Greek debt writedown. The bank, that was recently renamed Popular Laiki, needs a 1.8 bln euro ($2.33 bln) cash injection by a mid-year
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Olympiakos Piraeus won the Euroleague on Sunday in dramatic style on Sunday after being written off even by many of their own fans as title candidates before this season's premier club basketball competition. Trailing strong favourites CSKA Moscow 53-34 midway through the third quarter in the final, Olympiakos dug deep and completed a stunning fightback
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