The European Commission has proposed an important revision of the EU framework for investment funds, which provides consumers with access to professionally managed investments on affordable terms. These funds, known as 'UCITS' (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) at the end of last year accounted for over EUR6.4 trillion of assets in total which
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By George Hatzidakis and Tatiana Fragou ATHENS, July 16 (Reuters) – Greek villagers fled their homes as hundreds of firefighters battled forest blazes that raged near the Greek capital Athens on Wednesday, reviving memories of last summer's deadly wildfires. As emergency services used planes and helicopters to bring two large fires near Athens under control,
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Public confidence in U.S. economic policy dipped this month as unstable markets and shaky financial institutions left Americans uneasy about the future, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. The Reuters/Zogby Index, which measures the mood of the country, dropped to 88.7 from 90.4 in June as five of the 10 measures of public
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Stock futures slipped on Wednesday due to caution ahead of a key inflation report and mounting concerns about the health of the financial sector. The government is scheduled to release June's Consumer Price Index at 8:30 a.m., a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke flagged inflation as one of the threats menacing the U.S.
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World stocks fell towards this week's 21-month low and the dollar approached a record low versus the euro on Wednesday as investors nursed acute worries about the financial sector. U.S. crude oil fell further after posting its biggest one-day drop on Tuesday since 1991, when prices tumbled at the start of Operation Desert Storm. But
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Cyprus wants to become a key financial booking centre for investments from China into the EU and vice-versa, similar to the way it acts for Russia, the Ukraine and other countries. Cyprus Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis said he has held “several meetings with the Chinese Ambassador in Cyprus working out a comprehensive plan as to
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Cypriot Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis remains adamant that despite the decline in tax revenue, the country will still manage to report a 0.1-0.6% of GDP budget surplus for 2008, or in numerical terms, a surplus of EUR 20 mln to EUR 100 mln. Public debt meanwhile, is set to drop substantially to 48.5% of GDP
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The number of Britons out of work and claiming benefits rose for a fifth month running in June and by its largest amount since the slump of the early 1990s, in a sign the economic slowdown is starting to bite. The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday claimant count unemployment rose by 15,500 last
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European shares slipped on Wednesday after an early rally in banks ended and analysts warned persistent concern over the economy and the corporate sector would likely keep the broader market under pressure. Banks initially gained but quickly surrendered ground. UBS, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale were down between 1 and 2%. Royal Bank of Scotland
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The International Monetary Fund is sticking to its estimate that losses on U.S. assets from the subprime crisis and its wider fallout would be about $1 trln despite fresh U.S. banking problems recently, a senior IMF official said on Wednesday. "Basically, we think this is a reasonable figure and we are not revising the figure
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