New York's Fashion Week kicks off on Thursday with a very simple message for style-conscious consumers — spend, spend, spend. Designers are hoping to inspire consumer confidence as they reevaluate how the industry operates during the worst U.S. recession in some 70 years, which has seen sales at American retailers fall every month for the

Oil prices hovered above $71 a barrel on Wednesday, after rising more than $3 the previous day, as OPEC ministers were expected at their meeting in Vienna to maintain official output unchanged. U.S. crude for October delivery was up 8 cents at $71.18 a barrel by 0931 GMT. London Brent crude rose 12 cents to

Predictions for the housing market in both countries from RICS A positive outlook is envisaged for the housing market in Greece and Cyprus, as perceived, respectively, by the recent Weekly Real Estate Comment from RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and by Member of the Board of Directors of RICS, Pavlos Loizou MRICS. With reference

More than half of European websites selling consumer electronics are misleading or cheating online shoppers, the European Union consumer watchdog said on Wednesday after checks on 369 sites in 28 countries. National regulators will now force them to amend their selling practices and could close such sites if they fail to comply. About a quarter

British exports rose at their fastest monthly pace since the start of 2008 in July, keeping the country's trade gap on a narrowing trend and boosting optimism that global trade is picking up. Official data on Wednesday showed the value of UK exports rose 5 percent on the month to 19.187 billion pounds ($31.73 billion)

Cyprus is the 34rth most competitive economy in the world, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness report for 2009-2010. The report places Cyprus in the 34rth position with 4.57 points in an index of 133 countries. The competitiveness of the Cypriot economy advanced six positions compared to the 2008-2009 report. Switzerland tops the

The Nikkei stock average fell 0.8 percent on Wednesday, with Canon Inc and other exporters hit by a stronger yen while bank shares slid after a brokerage downgraded two of Japan's biggest banks. J.P. Morgan cut its ratings on Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to "neutral" from "overweight" and lowered its

The credit-rating agency Moody's does not expect to downgrade the sovereign debt of leading triple A-rated nations despite the explosive growth of government debt, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. "We do not expect downgrades in the near future of those countries rated triple A — the U.S., U.K., Germany, France and Spain — especially

World stocks slipped on Wednesday as investors paused ahead of key U.S. data, having pushed them to 11-month highs the previous day, while the low-yielding dollar held near its 2009 low against the euro. Gold rose towards the previous day's 1-1/2 year high, which was above $1,000 an ounce, with traders saying investors are selling