Russia's top economic decision makers clashed on Wednesday over whether some taxes should be cut to help business through the first recession in a decade, or whether the budget cannot afford to lose any more revenue. Officials painted a fairly glum picture of the oil-dominated economy, saying the economy could contract more than 7 percent
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Oil retreated from session highs to just above $50 a barrel on Wednesday, after OPEC's latest monthly oil market report predicted a faster-than-expected drop in world oil demand. By 1347 GMT, U.S. crude for May delivery was up 66 cents at $50.07 a barrel, off a session high of $50.79. ICE Brent crude was 18
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Poland's decision to become the second country after Mexico to seek a standby credit line at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an insurance policy that should stabilise the zloty on the path towards the euro, officials said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Poland said it would apply to the IMF for $20.5 billion in a
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By Gordon Bell Investors fear a shift in the policies that have fuelled South Africa's longest period of economic growth despite expectations that next week's election will leave the political landscape unchanged. Investors want to see whether the new African National Congress administration undermines the independence of respected institutions such as the central bank and
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Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks with three banks interested in buying its Asian retail and commercial banking assets as it pulls back to core markets, a person familiar with the matter said. The three banks are HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, the person said on Wednesday, declining
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Tentative hopes that the world economic crisis was easing took a new hit on Wednesday when Switzerland's largest bank UBS posted a quarterly loss of $1.7 billion and said it would axe thousands more jobs. In the United States, U.S. consumer prices fell unexpectedly in March as slumping demand pushed down energy and food costs,
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The United Nations envoy urged Greek and Turkish Cypriots on Wednesday to seize the opportunity offered by talks to reunite their island, but said time was working against a deal. "They really have to succeed, because I think the alternative is … a fairly dark future for Cyprus. I think it is going to be
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U.S. consumer prices fell in March and recorded their first 12-month drop since 1955, government data showed on Wednesday, as slumping demand amid a severe recession pushed down energy and food costs. The Labor Department said its closely watched Consumer Price Index fell 0.1 percent, after increasing 0.4 percent in February. On a year-over-year basis,
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In an effort to facilitate increased tourist arrivals from Russia to Cyprus, the government said Cypriot consular services in Russia will issue ‘pre-approved’ visas to Russian nationals wishing to come to the island. Visa application forms will be filled out online on a Cyprus government website and the information submitted to the consular services. Once
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Dr. Andreas Moleskis has been appointed by the Council of Ministers as Cabinet Secretary and head of the Cyprus EU Presidency office 2012. Cyprus will take over the EU Presidency in July 2012. Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said that Dr. Moleskis, Director General of the Planning Bureau, will submit his resignation from the Public Service
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