Greek and Turkish Cypriot law enforcers have set up a joint information centre to fill a policing gap fostered by years of estrangement since the Mediterranean island was divided decades ago by war. It is a big step for Cyprus where police authorities of rival sides do not even communicate, and where criminals often attempt
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Britain's PartyGaming and Austria's bwin unveiled a deal on Thursday to create a $3.3-bln online gaming business, positioning them to profit from any deregulation of a lucrative U.S. market. The deal to create the world's biggest listed online gaming company could kickstart a flurry of M&A activity in a fragmented sector that is seen as
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Ukraine will use $2 bln out of its new $15 bln IMF facility to finance its budget deficit this year and will stick to tight fiscal targets imposed by the deal, government officials said on Thursday. The cash-strapped former Soviet republic expects to receive the first $1.89 bln disbursement under the deal within a few
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. The European leveraged loan market, in the doldrums for nearly two years, is set for further growth in the second half as risk appetite returns to help private equity sponsors and trade buyers fund several large buyouts. Buyout deals for UK car parts maker Tomkins, frozen food maker Findus Italy, Belgian nappy maker Ontex
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Severe UK budget cuts and the possibility of slower growth ahead will force the Bank of England to wait until the second quarter of 2011 to raise interest rates, according to a Reuters poll of 61 economists. While official data last week showed the British economy grew at the fastest rate in four years in
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Greece will hire Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley as advisers on the offer it has received from Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> to buy government stakes in ATEbank <AGBr.AT> and Hellenic Postbank <GPSr.AT>, Greek daily To Vima said on Thursday. The finance ministry would not confirm or deny the banks would be involved and said
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British house prices fell 0.5% month-on-month in July after a flat month in June, the Nationwide building society said on Thursday, as concerns about the impact of government austerity measures dampened demand. There was also a sizeable drop in the annual rate of house price inflation, which slowed to 6.6% this month — its lowest
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Greek bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH) said on Thursday second-quarter net profit fell 11%, below market expectations, mainly due to a windfall tax in debt-laden Greece. Greece imposed a one-off tax on large firms' profit for 2009 in a bid to shore up revenues after the country signed a 110 bln euro deal with the EU
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British telecoms provider BT posted a 6% rise in first-quarter adjusted core earnings, generated strong cash flow and reiterated its outlook after taking further costs out of the business. Britain's biggest fixed-line telecoms provider said its group revenues were down 4% to 5 bln pounds, in line with forecasts, while core earnings were up 6%
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Royal Dutch Shell Plc said second-quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net income jumped 94% to $4.53 bln thanks to a strong operating environment and a speedy restructuring of the oil giant. Excluding one-off gains, the result was $4.21 bln, ahead of an average forecast of $3.99 billion from a Reuters poll of ten analysts.
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