Industrial production dropped by 7.6% over the year earlier in July, according to the latest figures from the Statistical Service. The fall was larger than the 7.2% drop recorded in June but not as big as the decline of 11.7% recorded in May and 11.2% recorded in April. Manufacturing alone fell by 11.8% in July.
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The Economic Sentiment Index in Cyprus in September 2009 recorded the largest improvement among Eurozone countries, reaching 66.7 points, from 56.1% in August. According to a monthly European Commission report, in Cyprus the services index reached -12 in September from -17 in August, the retail sales index reached -20 from -26, the industry index reached
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House President Marios Garoyian has warned those who still advocate a return to a failed UN solution plan – the Annan plan – that they will fail in their effort to help find a negotiated settlement in Cyprus. “We tell those who wish to reintroduce the Annan plan, impose strict timeframes and arbitration on the
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Italy staked its claim on Tuesday to the European Central Bank presidency after Jean-Claude Trichet's mandate expires in October 2011, setting the stage for a fight with EU powerhouse Germany. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on local television Italy would be "honoured" if Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi were named ECB head, reviving
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HSBC is close to selling a trio of landmark offices in London, New York and Paris to boost its balance sheet by around $2 billion by end-2009, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Europe's biggest bank has been mulling offers to sell its premises on New York's Fifth Avenue, the Champs Elysees in
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France is preparing a 500 million euro ($729 million) emergency package to help young jobseekers, who have been hardest hit by the economic crisis, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday. The plan foresees expanding special unemployment benefits that used to be reserved for jobless French over the age of 25 to younger age groups. It
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The European Commission said on Tuesday it has authorised two H1N1 swine flu vaccines for use in the European Economic Area this year, paving the way for mass vaccinations before the start of the flu season. Governments and drugmakers have been scrambling for vaccines to combat the new H1N1 flu strain before a feared second
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U.S. home prices in July rose for the third straight month, surpassing forecasts and suggesting that the housing market is stabilizing after a three-year plunge. The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of house prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 1.6 percent in July from June, more than triple the estimate of a 0.5 percent rise found in
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Dismayed by ice and storms, British explorer Captain James Cook had no regrets when he abandoned a voyage searching for a fabled southern continent in 1773. Finding only icebergs after he was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle, he wrote ruefully that if anyone ventured further and found a "land doomed by nature…to lie
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Walgreen Co (WAG.N), the largest U.S. drugstore chain, reported a quarterly profit that topped expectations as it began to benefit from a make-over that includes sprucing up stores and cutting jobs, sending its shares 10 percent higher. Analysts have lauded Walgreen's efforts, such as cutting back on store openings, reducing clutter in stores and planning
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