The Cyprus Government is handling the economy and the public finances with responsibility, Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis has stressed. Speaking at Larnaka airport, on his return from Belgium, where he participated in the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), Stavrakis said that the only way to achieve growth and prosperity is with budget purification.

Greece's deputy tourism minister said on Tuesday he hopes a late surge in arrivals will boost revenues in the key tourism sector, hit by a slump in bookings this year as anti-austerity protests kept visitors away. Officials have said revenues from tourism, making up a fifth of Greece's 240 billion euro economy, were expected to

Greece passed its first borrowing test on Tuesday since a giant EU/IMF funding deal in May, sending bank stocks and the euro higher after it easily sold 1.625 billion euros ($2.03 billion) of 6-month T-bills. The debt-ridden country managed to get market funding at a slightly cheaper cost than the 5.0 percent it pays to

The EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) decided Tuesday to begin an excessive deficit procedure for Cyprus, Finland, Bulgaria and Denmark. Cyprus was represented at the Council by Minister of Finance Charilaos Stavrakis. The ECOFIN said that 2012 is the Cypriot government's deadline to bring the budget deficit below 3% of GDP. For Denmark,

German banks are on track to pass the European stress test, several people close to the banks said, citing preliminary results, and would be therefore unlikely to need immediate recapitalisation. The results, which were due for submission by the end of Monday and need to be verified independently by the national regulator, show none of

Moody's Investor Service cut Portugal's debt rating by two notches on Tuesday, saying its growth prospects were weak and it might need new austerity measures next year to hit tough fiscal targets. The cut to A1, with a stable outlook, briefly sent the euro lower, but broad market reaction was relatively muted as Moody's made

The euro zone's emergency loan facility should be operational this month, finance ministers said on Monday, expressing hope Slovakia would cease to block the activation of the 440 billion euro ($554 billion) fund. The special-purpose vehicle, called the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), is being set up to provide temporary financing to euro zone countries

Banca Transilvania <BATR.BX>, Romania's second-largest listed bank, has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing after the bank's chairman was indicted by prosecutors on charges of money laundering and manipulating the market. The DIICOT office for fighting organised crime said Chairman Horia Ciorcila benefited from privileged information that Bank of Cyprus <BOCR.AT> <BOC.CY> intended to acquire a

The euro consolidated well below two-month peaks against the dollar on Tuesday as investors hesitated to go long on the single currency and risk large short dollar positions during the U.S. earnings season. The euro held steady at $1.2595, with resistance seen roughly around $1.2690, the trendline from the December high. Near-term support is seen

Cyprus' trade deficit for the first five months of 2010 rose to 2.09 billion euro, compared to 1.92 billion euro in the corresponding period of 2009, recording an increase of 176 million euro, according to preliminary data released today by Cyprus Statistical Service. Total imports/ arrivals in January – May 2010 reached 2.53 bln euro,