German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday European Commission proposals on tougher budget rules are a step in the right direction. Merkel said the proposals were a means of increasing budget transparency without attacking national budget sovereignty.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday gave his first news conference since the formation of a coalition government. He was accompanied by Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister. Following are key quotes from the news conference: CAMERON ON FIXED-TERM PARLIAMENT: "This is not an aspiration, this is going to be very early legislation. We
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Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday as Spain unveiled wide austerity measures, further easing jitters over euro-zone sovereign debt woes. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 39.66 points, or 0.37 percent, to 10,787.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) rose 5.07 points, or 0.44 percent, to 1,160.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) climbed
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Microsoft Corp launches an updated version of its Office software on Wednesday, aiming to keep its grip on the hugely profitable business application market while countering the challenge of free online alternatives from Google Inc. The world's largest software company is upgrading its popular Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint applications, and rolling out its own
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Cyprus was still in recession in the first quarter of 2010 according to the “Flash Estimate” produced by the Statistical Service but the decline was milder than in any of the previous four quarters. GDP declined in real terms by 0.2% over the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis in January-March, having fallen by
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Conservative leader David Cameron took over as British prime minister on Tuesday and said he wanted to form a full coalition with the smaller Liberal Democrat party. Following are comments from analysts: TODD ELMER, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, CITIGROUP, NEW YORK: "Sterling has been sensitive with all the back and forth of these particulars. Now, with more
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Adamant that Europe must take the lead in solving a debt crisis that began in Greece, U.S. officials have weighed in publicly with only carefully measured comments. But privately, President Barack Obama and his aides have counseled bold action to calm the storm in financial markets. They breathed a sigh of relief after markets welcomed
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Countries within the euro zone should implement a new system of cross-border budgetary co-ordination, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund told the Financial Times in an interview. Dominique Strauss-Kahn also proposed introducing short-term fiscal transfers between euro zone countries as a way of staving off another financial crisis, the FT reported in its
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The euro slipped on Wednesday on nagging worries about festering euro zone debt problems despite a $1 trillion rescue package unveiled this week, which fuelled a short-lived rally in global stocks. Sterling held its overnight gains after Conservative party leader David Cameron took over as British prime minister after securing a power-sharing agreement between his
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Cyprus Airways has appointed George Mavrocostas, one of its veteran engineers as the airline’s new chief executive officer. As was widely expected, the board said it appointed Mavrocostas, 58, to the post, taking up his duties from May 20. He has been with the state-controlled airline for 26 years, starting his career in 1984 as
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