Cyprus provides an ideal environment for UK companies to grow and expand their business activities, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides has said. Addressing in London a seminar on ''The role of Cyprus as an international financial and business centre'', Paschalides noted the strong and long-lasting links between Cypriot and UK companies, as

The Group of Eight rich nations can still serve a purpose by dealing with strategic issues, while leaving global economic management more to the wider Group of 20, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday. Flying back to London from summits of the G8 and G20 in Toronto, Cameron said the G8, which was

Greek workers stage a new 24-hour strike on Tuesday that will gauge public discontent with government austerity measures, including a radical pension reform aimed at helping the country solve its huge debt crisis. Transport will be disrupted while public offices, local media, schools and banks will close in the fifth joint walkout by major public

Asian stocks fell on Tuesday and were on course for their worst quarterly performance since the end of 2008, while funding concerns in the euro zone sent the single currency tumbling to a record low against the Swiss franc. The tepid nature of the rich world's recovery from global recession kept investors on the defensive,

China must not take the commitment of European companies for granted and needs to do more to ensure a level playing field for foreign business, the European Union Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday. Corporations remain optimistic about China's growth prospects, but are wary about the near-term outlook for profits and are very concerned about

High winds and large waves expected in the Gulf of Mexico as the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season passes to the west are likely to slow efforts to contain the largest oil spill in U.S. history. As costs associated with the spill mount, shares in London-based energy giant BP Plc are languishing

China will move 345,000 people, mostly poor villagers, within about two years to make way for a vast scheme to draw on rivers in the south to supply the increasingly dry north, an official newspaper said on Tuesday. The forced resettlement for the South-to-North Water Transfer Project will be the biggest China has undertaken since

Political momentum was expected to carry a sweeping Wall Street reform bill to approval in the U.S. Congress, but the death of Senator Robert Byrd threatened to delay final action until mid-July. Democratic backers of the bill scrambled on Monday to replace a crucial vote of support that was lost when Byrd, 92, passed away,

Shanghai shares extended losses to hit a 14-month low on Tuesday, dragging Hong Kong stocks down, as investors pulled funds from the market to prepare for a major IPO by Agricultural Bank of China. The Shanghai Composite fell 3.3%, slipping under the May troughs near 2,480 that analysts had said was a near-term support level.