Hellenic Exchanges, the operator of Greece's stock and futures markets, said on Wednesday full-year 2010 profit dropped 28%, hurt by weak trading volumes amid the country's debt crisis. Net profit dropped to 21.3 mln euros ($29.58 mln) as group revenue shrank 21% to 61.7 mln. The country's debt crisis weighed on trading activity, which halved
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. The world's biggest drink refrigerator equipment maker Frigoglass will return capital to shareholders instead of paying a dividend to lower its tax burden, the company's CEO said on Wednesday. Like other Greek companies, Frigoglass seeks alternative ways to reward stockholders after the debt-laden country hiked its dividend tax last year, as part of measures
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Greece has filed a shelf registration with securities regulators in the United States to be able to sell so-called diaspora bonds to retail investors, the head of the country's debt agency said. Diaspora bonds, aimed at Greeks abroad, are part of plans by the debt-ridden country to raise funds before it attempts to return to
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Ten MPs from the Greek ruling Socialist party Pasok urged the government on Wednesday to sue ratings agency Moody's for slashing the country's credit rating by three notches on Monday, pushing borrowing costs even higher. After a raft of media and official criticism of the Moody's move, the lawmakers said the downgrade to "highly speculative"
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Greece's top tax official resigned on Wednesday two days after Moody's slashed the country's credit rating, citing shortfalls in tax collection. A government spokesman said that Dimitris Georgakopoulos, Secretary General at the Finance Ministry in charge of tax and customs issues, left his post. "He resigned for personal reasons," government spokesman George Petalotis told Reuters,
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All shops in England will be banned from openly displaying tobacco products by April 2015 as part of a government package of measures to cut smoking. The Department of Health, announcing the legislation on national No Smoking Day, said the new rules would be phased in to give retailers time to adjust. Cigarettes and other
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Euro zone countries are working on what they call a "comprehensive package" of measures which they hope will resolve the region's debt crises. The aim is to finish the package by a European Union summit on March 24-25, when EU leaders may approve it. A preliminary summit on March 11 is expected to agree on
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Cyprus Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides has stressed the opportunities that Cyprus offers as a tourist destination. Speaking in the framework of a press conference of the Cyprus delegation at the International Exhibition ITB Berlin 2011. Paschalides stressed the importance of the German market for the Cyprus tourism, noting that in 2010
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The European Central Bank's Ewald Nowotny urged euro zone leaders to agree a pact on competitiveness and said it would be fair to fine tune aid given to countries who have worked hard to repair their finances. The pact on competitiveness, which Germany is demanding as a quid pro quo for a broadening of the
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Assets at Swiss private bank EFG International fell in 2010 as the negative effects of a strong Swiss franc and withdrawals by institutions outweighed strong new money inflows from private clients. The bank swung to a full-year net loss of 721.8 mln Swiss francs ($773.6 mln) following an 859.5 mln franc writedown against the Marble
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