The euro retreated from a three-week high on Tuesday and Asian shares gave up most of their early gains as crucial negotiations on Greek debt restructuring suffered another major setback, raising the spectre of default. Financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 to open down around 0.4-0.6%. The MSCI's broadest index
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France approved on Monday a bill making it illegal to deny the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide, sparking angry retaliation from Turkey which threatened a "total rupture" of diplomatic ties. Lawmakers in the upper house (Senate) voted 127 to 86 in favour of the draft law outlawing
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U.S. President Barack Obama will pitch new initiatives on jobs, taxes and housing in an election-year State of the Union address on Tuesday as he seizes his biggest moment yet on the national stage to make a sweeping case for a second term. Framed in what is expected to be a starkly populist speech, most
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Germany and France pressed on Monday for a rapid deal between Greece and its private creditors that cuts its soaring debt to sustainable levels and said they were committed to a sealing a new bailout for Athens by March to avert a disastrous default. Euro zone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the terms
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A subsea cable some 540 nautical miles long will soon connect Israel and Cyprus to south-east and western Europe to satisfy the continent’s need for cheap and sufficient electricity. The project, initiated by the DEH/PPC Quantum Energy Joint Venture, will cost about 1.5 bln euros to build and will have the capacity to transmit 2,000
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The euro wobbled in Asia on Monday after Athens and its private creditors failed to agree on a debt swap deal that is vital to avert a chaotic default for Greece. Private creditors said on Sunday they had come to the limits of what losses they could concede in a Greek debt swap, putting the
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The founder of file-sharing website Megaupload was ordered to be held in custody by a New Zealand court on Monday, as he denied charges of internet piracy and money laundering and said authorities were trying to portray the blackest picture of him. Prosecutor Anne Toohey argued at a bail hearing that Kim Dotcom, a German
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Asian shares and the euro paused from last week's rally on Monday as investors sweated on the progress of crucial Greek talks on a debt swap deal to avoid a default, while activity was subdued due to the Lunar New Year holiday in much of Asia. Caution returned as Greece and private creditors struggled to
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Euro zone finance ministers will decide on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second bailout package for Athens after negotiators for private creditors said they could not improve their offer. Resolving the issue of a Greek debt swap is key to putting Athens' debt
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Private creditors said on Sunday they had come to the limits of what losses they could concede in a Greek debt swap, putting the ball in the court of the EU and the IMF in a tense race against the clock to avoid a messy default. Athens needs a deal on the plan, meant to
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