UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said he was encouraged by what he saw and heard during his recent visit to Cyprus adding that a settlement of the Cyprus problem is within reach. Ban, who briefed the UN Security Council about his recent visits to London, Ethiopia and Cyprus told journalists that ''Leaders made good

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet on Thursday in an atmosphere of growing tension over euro zone budget stability and the future of the troubled A400M military transport project. Although it is not on the formal agenda, the problems facing debt-ridden euro zone states like Greece or Portugal are certain to

President Barack Obama's plan to double U.S. exports over five years includes passing free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea that have been delayed for years, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday. "I think it requires we work together to pass strong trade agreements that will expand opportunities in … foreign

Lingering concerns about the global economy and a host of negative local factors pushed Asian stocks lower on Thursday, with Toyota hitting a 10-month low on investor concerns over its massive vehicle recall. European stocks were expected to shrug off weakness in Asian and U.S. markets, with investors keenly awaiting rate decisions from the European

Malta's A1 government ratings reflect the country's high economic resiliency and its very high financial robustness, Moody's Investors Service said in its new sovereign credit report on Malta. The country's primary challenge is to maintain economic competitiveness over the longer term, building on and securing its success in attracting investment in fields such as remote

The euro rose on Wednesday while the premium investors pay for Greek debt fell as the European Commission endorsed Athens' budget plans, while stocks extended gains on hopes the global economy will maintain momentum. A closely-watched survey showed the euro zone's dominant service sector expanded at a slower pace in January than in the previous

Stock futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1 to 0.2 percent, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) releases at 1315 GMT (8:15 a.m. EST) its January employment report. Economists in a Reuters survey expect 30,000 were lost versus