Markets pounded Greek bonds and banking stocks on Thursday, driving the debt-stricken euro zone member's borrowing costs to new highs and pushing it closer to tapping a last resort EU/IMF safety net. The government has failed to reassure investors it can handle the crisis this week, and a dearth of details surrounding the international lifeline
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Unemployment rose less quickly in March than in previous months, according to the latest figures from the Statistical Service. The number of unemployed registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of March 2010 rose by 44.8% or 7,530 persons over the year earlier to reach 24,336, compared with an increase of 46.2%
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Asian stocks fell on Thursday as investors took profits after strong gains in recent weeks while the euro remained weak, waiting for the European Central Bank to flesh out lending rules likely to support debt-laden Greece. European stocks were set to open weaker in line with Asian and U.S. markets, although the focus will be
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The World Bank has committed a record $100 billion in financial support over the past 18 months to help developing countries recover from the global economic crisis, the poverty-fighting institution said on Wednesday. The World Bank stepped up lending in July 2008 at the request of member countries as demand from developing countries increased in
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Cyprus Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis presented the Stability Programme to the press on Wednesday, which envisages to curtail budget deficit from 6.1% of GDP in 2010 to 2.5% by 2013. The plan also envisages to containing public debt to 61% by 2013, whereas it projects ''positive but slow growth of 0.5 percent in 2010 and
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Greece's borrowing costs hit a new high on Wednesday after the government said the country's banks had asked for billions of euros in support and euro zone states argued over the conditions of potential bailout loans. Investors shed bank shares and drove up the premium demanded for buying Greek rather than German bonds, fuelling a
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Moody's Investors Service has confirmed the Ba1 issuer and Sukuk ratings of DP World, one the world's four largest container terminal operators, with a ‘stable’ outlook. On December 8, 2009, Moody's lowered DP World's ratings to Ba1 and placed them on review for downgrade both as a result of wider reductions in government support factored
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Greece's Prime Minister said on Wednesday that an EU agreement struck last month to help the country avoid bankruptcy was a great success and rendered its fiscal situation manageable. "This agreement is clearly a great success for our country and the European Union," Prime Minister George Papandreou told a cabinet meeting. "With this safety net
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Euro zone growth stalled in the last quarter of 2009 as investment turned out weaker than expected, revised data showed on Wednesday, but a benchmark survey suggested this year's fragile recovery is gaining traction. The gross domestic product of the 16 countries using the euro posted zero growth quarter-on-quarter in October-December, rather than the previously
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The decline of industrial production moderated in Cyprus in January, as the index fell by 3.3% over the year earlier, having dropped by 6.1% in December and 4.3% in November. Two subsectors actually posted growth. The subsector of chemicals and pharmaceuticals rose by 10.7% over the year earlier after four months of decline, and the
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