Britain's economy may contract again for one quarter, but is unlikely to return to recession, Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker said in a newspaper interview published over the weekend. Barker said the harsh winter weather hit retail sales at the start of this year but that February's business surveys had painted a more upbeat
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Concerns about monetary tightening in China and caution ahead of U.S. and Japanese central bank policy meetings this week weighed on financial markets on Monday, weakening stocks. The dollar strengthened a bit as a result. MSCI's all-country world index was off 0.3 percent, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei closing
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Britain's top share index eased 0.3 percent early on Monday, as monetary tightening fears weighed on the mining sector, offsetting gains in defensive issues and with BT Group boosted by a Citigroup upgrade. By 0910 GMT the FTSE 100 index was 17.83 points lower at 5,607.82, having added just 0.5 percent last week. The move
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Cypriot tennis player, Marcos Baghdatis secured a spot in the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 series Indian Wells tournament, after beating France's Arnaud Clement, 76th in ATP rankings, with 2-0. Baghdatis, 33 in ATP world rankings, had difficulty in winning the first set with 7-6, while he eased to victory after securing the
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A new meeting between Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will take place on Tuesday, in the framework of direct negotiations with a view to reach a settlement of the problem of Cyprus, divided since the Turkish invasion in 1974. The meeting will begin at 1000 local time and will
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Asian stocks fell from near seven-week highs on Monday as a currency spat between China and the United States and worries about sovereign debt combined to keep investors away from riskier assets. Markets were also cautious before U.S. and Japanese central bank meetings later this week. Both are expected to keep monetary policies super loose,
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Google said on Monday it remained in talks with the Chinese government about censorship of its Chinese-language search portal, despite mounting signs the company could soon shut the site. Google Inc, the world's biggest search engine, has been in a two-month standoff with Beijing over restrictions on the Internet and Google's claims that it and
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Asian stocks fell from near seven-week highs on Monday after weak U.S. consumer confidence data overshadowed strong retail numbers and curbed demand for risky assets, keeping the price of oil below $81. Investors were disappointed that Friday's upbeat February retail sales report, which showed spending rose in spite of bad weather, failed to help U.S.
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The British government announced new rights for credit card users on Monday that it says will save consumers millions of pounds and give them more control over their finances. The new rights were secured in an agreement between the government and the credit and store card companies. The industry will introduce the key changes this
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. The cream of Cyprus winemakers were among an enthusiastic audience at the Londa Boutique Hotel a week ago, to mark the occasion of our first Cyprus Wine Awards. Fifty awards were made, to 23 wineries. The Londa’s general manager welcomed the guests and introduced your editor, who talked briefly about his more than 20
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