President of the Republic Demetris Christofias has described 2009 as probably the most difficult year in the history of tourism in Cyprus, due to the global financial crisis which has affected many countries from which the island attracts tourists. Addressing the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (PASYXE) Annual General Meeting here on Tuesday, President Christofias said that
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The outlook for global automotive manufacturers is negative, reflecting the industry's ongoing challenges surrounding decreased vehicle demand due to the global economic downturn, Moody's Investors Service said in a new report. Furthermore, manufacturers' captive financing arms continue to face asset quality and funding challenges due to the weak global market and economic conditions. "Moody's continues
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Moody's Investors Service has placed the Baa2 global local currency deposit rating and Baa3 foreign currency subordinated debt rating of International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) on review for possible downgrade. The review of the global local currency deposit rating and foreign currency subordinated debt rating will look at the extent to which Azerbaijan's ability to
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Moody's Investors Service has placed the ratings of four Belarusian banks on review for possible downgrade. The banks affected are Belagroprombank, Belarusbank, Belinvestbank and Belpromstroibank. The review of the deposit ratings will look at the extent to which Belarus's ability to provide support to its banking system, should such support be needed, has changed in
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Libya is looking forward to signing bilateral agreements with Cyprus relating to oil and natural gas supply and exploitation and strengthen cooperation in key sectors of the economy, Libyan Minister of Justice Mustafa Mohamed Abdel Jalil told reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with the Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalidis. “We
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US investments in Cyprus amount to more than $379 mln, US Ambassador in Nicosia Frank Urbancic said, noting that this figure will soon increase substantially as an American energy firm begins exploring for oil and gas off Cyprus’ southwest coast. Speaking Tuesday at a press conference at the US pavilion of the Cyprus International Fair,
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European shares turned positive on Tuesday afternoon after U.S. consumer sentiment readings came in stronger than expected. At 1412 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 860.74 points, having been as low as 842.26 earlier. U.S. consumer confidence soared in May to its highest level in eight months
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The dollar rose on Tuesday, recovering from a five-month low hit last week, while investors cautiously awaited U.S. Treasury debt auctions kicking off later in the day. The euro was hurt by plummeting share prices and weak economic data. A media report questioning the health of the German banking system also prompted traders to cash
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Greek carrier Aegean Airlines will join the Star Alliance, which includes UAL Corp's United, Germany's Lufthansa, Air Canada and Continental. The move would give Aegean, which became Greece's largest airline by passenger numbers last year, access to many markets across the globe with large communities of Greek descendants, executives said. Aegean, which competes with former
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Britain's financial regulator banned and fined a trader on Tuesday for "front-running" client trades, in the third sanction on a former Morgan Stanley banker in the last two weeks. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) banned Nilesh Shroff for deliberately disadvantaging his customers by "pre-hedging" trades without their consent. The FSA said Shroff agreed at an
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