The Economist Intelligence Unit affirmed on Friday its BBB rating for Greece's sovereign risk with a negative outlook. Greece's poor rating—two bands lower than the median of its eurozone peers—reflects structural problems in the public finances which have come to a head with the recession and global financial crisis, the EIU said. The fiscal deficit
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European shares' blistering rally of 60 percent from March lows is poised to spill over into the early months of 2010, but technical analysts say the market will become vulnerable to deep corrections thereafter. Chartists, who provide a view on market performance based on patterns in the graphs of securities or indexes, said the stock
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easyJet and serial entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou presented five entrepreneurs with cheques of 50,000 euros each at a ceremony in Nicosia Friday for their work in promoting bicommunal business cooperation in Cyprus. The five winners were: The Highgate School – a trilingual education programme from pre-K to grade 12 in Nicosia, represented by educators Maria Theochari
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The euro stabilised on Friday after this week's steep losses against the dollar and yen and rose off nine-month lows versus the Swiss franc while higher oil prices helped European stocks higher in thin year-end trade. Rumours of a coup in Pakistan had sent the safe-haven Swiss franc surging in early dealing but it slipped
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The euro clawed back some of its recent steep losses against the dollar and yen on Friday and rose off nine-month lows versus the Swiss franc while higher oil prices pushed European stocks higher in thin year-end trade. Rumours of a coup in Pakistan had sent the safe-haven Swiss franc surging but it slipped after
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Britain's financial sector looks in much better shape than six months ago, the Bank of England said on Friday, with one of its senior figures arguing that departures might be a "price worth paying" for tougher rules. "Some of the downsides of carrying around a big financial system are now evident to all," BoE Executive
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European equities drifted higher in early trading on Friday, with stronger energy shares on the back of firmer crude oil prices outpacing weaker financials. At 0818 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3 percent at 1,021.16 points. It slipped 1.3 percent in the previous session after five straight sessions of
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U.S. Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday that its Kindle electronic book reader posted its best sales yet in the month of December, as the battle for the digital reader market heats up. Without giving figures or comparisons and barely halfway through the month, the online retailer said that the Kindle was the most
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Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook on Lebanon's B2 government bond issuer ratings to positive from stable, prompted by a continuation of the positive trends that led to the upgrade of Lebanon's sovereign ratings in April, such as the continued improvement in external liquidity, the strengthened ability of the country's resilient banking system to
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Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Antonis Paschalides has said that the Cypriot economy has proved that despite its small size, it is based on sound structures which enable it to deal successfully with contemporary challenges. Addressing an event entitled ''Greece-Cyprus: Working together for consolidation in the markets of the Balkans and south-eastern Mediterranean'', Paschalides said
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