Cyprus may need to raise taxes to help it pull out of an economic crisis, central bank Governor Athanasios Orphanides said on Saturday, a day after Moody's warned the island would probably need to seek emergency funding at some point. Moody's downgraded Cyprus's credit rating by two notches to Baa3, one level above junk, on
More
Moody's Investor Service said it cut the Cyprus sovereign ratings by two notches from Baa1 to Baa3 with possible review for a further downgrade. The rating agency said the downgrade reflects the high likelihood that Cypriot banks may need state aid to cushion themselves from their exposure to toxic Greek bonds that has been agreed will be subject
More
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said he would not head a new coalition government, which could be agreed with the opposition as early as Sunday, a statement from his office said. "It is clear that this government will pass the baton but it will not pass it to a void — it will pass it
More
The European Central Bank's interest rate cut on Thursday was a pre-emptive strike, policymaker Juergen Stark said on Friday, and urged the bank to call an early halt to its sovereign bond-buying programme. The comments by Stark, who will step down from the bank's six-strong Executive Board at the end of the year, signal the
More
The euro zone won verbal support but no new money at a G20 summit in Cannes on Friday for its tortured efforts to overcome a sovereign debt crisis, while Italy was effectively placed under IMF supervision. Leaders of the world's major economies, meeting on the French Riviera, told Europe to sort out its own problems
More
* Will it avoid fate of Zaha Hadid's Eleftheria Square plans? The Old GSP stadium in Nicosia will undergo a much-need facelift with the capital finally getting a central park. The Nicosia Municipality announced that the firm of Yiannis Kizis and Associates with Constantinos Kizis, Efthymios Doungas and Gregoris Patsalosavis won the architectural competition to
More
. The Risk Watch Column By Dr Alan Waring Financial Mirror readers may recall that four previous Risk Watch articles have discussed the major hazard risk issues arising from the Mari-Vassilikos disaster of the 11th July 2011. Now that Polis Polyviou has delivered his report to the President and the government, we are finally in
More
. In the Greek section of the Financial Mirror last week, we ran a story about Jet2.com promoting paragliding in the North only, whereas the airline promotes itself as carrying passengers to Larnaca and boosting the Cyprus tourism market. We received the following response from Jet2’s agent in Cyprus: The article in question referred to
More
* Costas Mylonas is new non-exec chairman * Andreas Vgenopoulos, the outspoken architect credited with building up Marfin Laiki Bank from the second biggest lender in Cyprus into a leading bank in south east Europe and the CIS, has resigned as non-executive chairman and has left the board. He left just as he had arrived
More
Israel’s President Shimon Peres said that the cooperation between Israel and Cyprus should not be deemed a threat to anyone, suggesting that common gas exploration and regional defence exercises are not directed against the interest of former ally Turkey. Peres, who concludes a two-day official visit to the island, had several meetings with political and
More