The European Commission will present a long-term plan for winding up failing banks before a June 18-19 summit of leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies in Mexico, Commission spokeswoman Chantal Hughes said on Friday. "Our objective is to present the proposal on a bank crisis resolution scheme before the G20 summit in June," Hughes
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Spain's sickly economy faces a "crisis of huge proportions", a minister said on Friday, as unemployment hit its highest level in almost t w o decades and Standard and Poor's weighed in with a two-notch downgrade of the government's debt. Unemployment shot up to 24 percent in the first quarter, one of the worst jobless
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Four bombs exploded at short intervals in the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk on Friday in what authorities said amounted to an "act of terrorism", wounding 27 people, including nine children. President Viktor Yanukovich said the blasts, from bombs planted in rubbish bins, represented "a challenge … to the whole country." The authorities were considering how
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the underdog in a presidential election to be decided on May 6, waxed philosophical on Friday about the possibility of losing, telling a sports newspaper that defeat was part of life in sport and politics. "I think records are made to be beaten. So you can't be sad if someone else
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Germany will not bid to host the Euro 2020 soccer championships, the country's football association said on Friday, ending months of speculation regarding the football crazy nation's intentions. Germany, hosts of the 2006 World Cup and the 2011 women's World Cup, said it was the turn for other countries to stage one of the world's
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Barcelona's most successful manager Pep Guardiola will walk away from the Catalans at the end of the season and will be replaced by his assistant Tito Vilanova, the club announced on Friday. Guardiola's decision to quit and recharge his batteries ends a remarkable trophy-laden four-year spell built on a passing style of unmatched fluidity and
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The government is addressing the capital deficit of the banking system with the due attention and has prepared a comprehensive plan to effectively tackle the challenges in the banking sector, the Ministry of Finance points out in a press release issued today. The Ministry notes that the banking system in Cyprus is at a critical
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The government is expected to announce Saturday the new Central Bank Governor, after the President’s decision to replace incumbent Governor Athanasios Orphanides. According to reliable sources, President Demetris Christofias, who met Friday with Orphanides, briefed him on his decision to replace him. Panicos Demetriades, a professor of financial economics at the University of Leicester who
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Asian shares edged higher on Friday on firm U.S. data, but a two-notch downgrade of Spain's credit rating capped gains, while fresh easing measures by the Bank of Japan briefly pushed Tokyo stocks up over 1 percent and the dollar above 81 yen. European shares were likely to fall, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major
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Barclays beat forecasts with a 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit, as a strong rebound in revenue from its investment banking arm and a drop in bad debt countered increased compensation for insurance mis-selling. The British bank reported an adjusted pretax profit of 2.45 billion pounds ($3.94 billion) in the three months to end-March, up
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