The German economy suffered a record contraction in the final quarter of last year, as a manufacturing slump hit exports and dented investment in Europe's biggest economy, dimming the outlook for 2009. "This shows things went downhill sharply at the end of the year," said Juergen Michels, an economist at Citigroup. "We'll likely head down
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Cyprus will offload a cargo of weapons from a ship detained for violating United Nations sanctions on Iran, the island's state broadcaster said on Thursday. Government sources declined to comment on reports by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation that the cargo from the Monchegorsk would be taken off the vessel on Friday morning. The ship has
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Cyprus economy is expected to record a growth rate over 2% during the first three months of 2009, Cyprus Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis said here Thursday. “The economy is moving according to our predictions,” he said, adding that there has been a high growth rate of the economy in January and the first days of
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Sales at U.S. retailers rebounded in January, government data showed on Thursday, likely boosted by post-holiday discounts and providing a rare glimmer of hope for the recession-hit economy. But the upward trend in sales could prove unsustainable as companies, reeling from a year-long recession continue to layoff workers in large numbers. The Commerce Department said
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Chinese state-owned aluminium group Chinalco will invest $19.5 billion in miner Rio Tinto in a deal that will secure resource supplies for China and help cut Rio's debt but also raise regulatory scrutiny. Rio shares in London tumbled as much as 18 percent on Thursday as investors worried that Rio was giving up too many
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The government will continue to inform the international community on the issue that has arisen from the self-confession of Turkish actor Attila Olgac that he killed ten Greek Cypriots during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou has said. Replying to questions on Wednesday after a Cabinet meeting, Stephanou said that the
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The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament has urged Turkey to facilitate a suitable climate for the ongoing peace talks in Cyprus by withdrawing its military forces from the island and by allowing the two community leaders to negotiate freely their country's future. The Committee expressed regret that Turkey has not met its
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Videogames can be good for children, encouraging creativity and cooperation, a European Union report concluded Wednesday which ran counter to the violent reputation of some titles. In conclusions that may either surprise or reassure parents of game addicts, the study by the European Parliament Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection found a number
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World stocks slid on Thursday, pushing the low-yielding yen and safer government bonds higher as investors grew increasingly disappointed over a compromise on a $789 billion U.S. fiscal stimulus plan. U.S. congressional negotiators reached a deal on Wednesday over the plan on emergency spending and tax cuts, aimed at reversing a deep recession. The price
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