Greek economic sentiment improved slightly for the second straight month in July with better outlooks in industry and services offset by declining readings in the retail and construction sectors, a survey showed. The Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said on Wednesday its economic climate index — based on business expectations sub-indices covering industry,

Citigroup is poised to put its British online bank Egg up for auction as part of a plan to dispose of billions of dollars in unwanted assets, the Financial Times said on Wednesday. The newspaper said Citi had been holding informal talks with potential buyers over Egg for some time and it was now preparing

The makers of the BlackBerry smartphone held last-ditch talks with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to avert a threatened cut-off of a key service while India took a tough line with the Canadian company. Research In Motion is facing mounting demands from governments around the world for access to its vaunted encryption system on national security

The vast majority of oil from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico is gone, President Barack Obama's energy adviser said on Wednesday, and the remaining oil reportedly does not pose a serious threat. The U.S. government will release a report that says scientists had determined that containment, burning, and skimming measures worked in

British house prices rose 0.6 percent in July, reversing the previous month's fall, mortgage lender Halifax said on Wednesday as it maintained its view that house prices would flatten off this year. The mortgage lender said prices rose 4.9 percent in the three months to July compared with a year ago, down from 6.3 percent

French bank Societe Generale beat forecasts with an almost fourfold leap in second-quarter net profit as lighter loan-loss provisions and toxic assets helped offset weaker investment banking revenue. But the bank, which last month easily passed a Europe-wide stress test, stayed cautious despite the results, warning on Wednesday that the growing economic recovery was still

Former Italy treasury minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa will advise Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, helping guide the country's austerity programme under a multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout. "He will offer advice to the prime minister on matters of political planning relating to the implementation of fiscal and structural policy as part of the European support mechanism," Papandreou's

Research In Motion unveiled a new BlackBerry smartphone with a touchscreen and slideout keyboard, hoping to raise its consumer appeal and fend off competition from Apple's iPhone. The BlackBerry Torch will go on sale in the United States on August 12 for $199.99 with a two-year contract with AT&T Inc. The device uses a new

Top U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford reported an increase of 5% in July sales from a year earlier, results they said pointed to a slow but steady turnaround for the battered sector in the third quarter. The sales increase for Ford was lower than some of the more bullish analysts had forecast and the

European shares ended flat on Tuesday as strong corporate results from the likes of Deutsche Post offset some worries about the economic recovery fuelled by disappointing U.S. data. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares ended barely changed at 1,070.79 points after closing at a three-month high on Monday. The index has gained almost