* Finance ministry says banks robust * Standard and Poor's cut Cyprus's long-term sovereign rating to A- from A on Wednesday, its second cut in five months, citing spillover concerns on its banking sector from a potential debt restructuring in Greece. Cyprus ratings could be lowered further if there were an increase in the embedded
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The FTSE 100 closed higher for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday, its best run since August 2010, as investors ditched retailers over earnings worries in favour of growth sectors such as industrials and mining. Dixons issued a profit warning and gloomy outlook as a survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed the underlying
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Part-nationalised British bank Lloyds gave its new chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio a long-term pay deal potentially worth some 10 mln pounds ($16 mln), according to its annual report. Horta-Osorio, who joined Lloyds this year after running rival Santander UK, got his basic salary increased to 1.061 mln pounds from an original 1.035 mln since Lloyds
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Greece's ATEbank, the only Greek lender to fail EU-wide bank stress tests last year, said on Wednesday it was planning a 1.26 bln euro ($1.77 bln) share capital increase to bolster its balance sheet. Greece's debt crisis and austerity policies have hurt banks through their government bond holdings, rising bad loans and lost access to
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Greece could use some proceeds from its state divestments programme to buy back outstanding bonds in the market and retire some of its debt, the country's finance minister said on Wednesday. Greece, which was downgraded further into junk territory by Standard & Poor's on Tuesday, has agreed with the EU and the IMF to substantially
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Small Greek lender Proton Bank said on Wednesday businessman Lavrentis Lavrentiadis had cut his stake to 15.55% from 20.1%. Lavrentiadis, who acquired the stake from Piraeus Bank in 2009, sold 3.1 mln Proton shares on March 24. Last month Proton, which runs a network of 31 branches, named a new chief executive and chairman. It
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. Private jets, once playthings of the rich, have become a necessity for travellers in the restive Middle East and North Africa where commercial airlines have scaled back flights. Business is booming. Banned by many firms as an extravagance after the global downturn, jets — some with gold-plated interiors, bedrooms and bathrooms — are vital
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. Regional turmoil is creating an unexpected boom for Dubai as tourists and businessmen flock once again to the shopping and skyscraper oasis after fleeing just a few years ago in the wake of its spectacular debt debacle. Visitor numbers are noticeably higher in Dubai's gleaming malls and restaurants, and hotels are ecstatic as rooms
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday sought China's support to help advance reform of world commodity and financial markets, while his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao warned Sarkozy against overstepping U.N. authority in the Libya crisis. Sarkozy and Hu made the remarks in Beijing, where the French president has been visiting before flying to Nanjing, the
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Britain's service sector rebounded in January after a snow-hit December and retail sales rose unexpectedly in March, data showed on Wednesday, raising hope of a decent pick-up in first-quarter GDP. The pound rose and gilts fell on the data, as investors moved to price a more than 50 percent chance that the Bank of England
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