* Noble to start production by 2016; Terminal to cost 10 bln eur * The second licensing round for natural gas prospecting south of Cyprus has attracted unprecedented interest, with 70 companies subscribing to the seismic data based on which they will submit their bids to clinch one of the 12 remaining concessions in the
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* Tight timetable pushing Greece to sell assets cheaply * Greece's wretched experience has been a poor advert for asset sales as a tool to cut state borrowings, but others in the euro zone high debt club are much better placed to make a decent fist of privatisations. Italy, Spain and Ireland, all of which
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Greece's biggest electricity producer PPC/DEH announced a record quarterly loss on Friday, hit by bad-debt provisions and higher fuel costs amid the country's economic crisis. The state-controlled company's loss reached 240 million euros ($318.65 million) in the fourth quarter, compared with a 37.4 million euro profit in the same period the previous year. PPC booked
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Greek jewellery retailer Folli Follie Group reported a 7.5% rise in 2011 profit on Thursday as sales in China and a good tourism season at home helped it cope with the country's severe recession. Folli, which sells jewellery and other accessories at about 800 stores in Europe, Asia and the United States, booked a net
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Asian shares firmed to end their best first quarter in over 20 years on Friday, while European shares were also expected to rise, returning to a new year rally ahead of a meeting that may boost the euro zone's bailout resources. Financial spreadbetters predicted major European markets would open up 0.6 to 0.9% after three
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OPAP, Europe's biggest betting company, said on Thursday it had shortlisted three IT providers to help it expand into online betting, a business it sees as a key growth driver. Greece's OPAP is in discussions with three gaming software companies, GTech – a unit of Italian lottery Lottomatica – Playtech and Intralot, Chief Executive Yannis
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Tibet's Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama has won the 2012 Templeton Prize worth $1.7 million for his work affirming the spiritual dimension of life, the U.S.-based John Templeton Foundation said on Thursday. The spiritual leader "vigorously focused on the connections between the investigative traditions of science and Buddhism as a way to better understand and
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Cyprus cannot shift from its positions and accept the opening of chapters in Turkey's EU accession negotiations, as long as Turkey does not meet its commitments, President Demetris Christofias said on Thursday. Replying to questions, the president said the Republic of Cyprus has its positions, which are well-known, and is in contact with European Enlargement
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A less turbulent European debt crisis and improving global economic prospects are expected to help Britain's FTSE 100 share index rise a further 5% from current levels by the end of 2012 after a mid-year reverse, according to a Reuters poll. The median forecast given by 19 equity strategists in the survey conducted over the
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U.S. authorities filed criminal charges on Wednesday against a JetBlue Airways pilot who witnesses said yelled incoherently about religion and the 2001 hijack attacks and pounded on a locked cockpit door before passengers subdued him in a midair uproar. Flight 191 was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, on Tuesday, following what authorities described as erratic behavior
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