The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.0 percent on Thursday, matching its lowest-ever rate as inflation plummets and recession spreads. The cut, in line with consensus forecasts, marks the fourth cut in just over three months amidst signs the financial crisis is biting hard into the real
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The Free Gaza Movement boat “Arion”, which set sail Wednesday for the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians was forced in the morning hours by the Israeli navy to return to Cyprus. The boat, carrying international peace activists, doctors and journalists, as well as four-member crew, is expected to return early in the
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US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has raised the importance of reunifying Cyprus and the demilitarisation of the island to Secretary of State Designate Hillary Clinton during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. An announcement issued by the National President of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), Ike Gulas, says
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Banks in Europe and the United States faced fresh doubts about their ability to ride out a global financial crisis which is expected to prompt a European Central Bank interest rate cut later on Thursday. Shares in Bank of America and Citigroup, two of America's biggest banks, tumbled in a new crisis of confidence over
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World stocks hit a one-month low on Thursday while the yen rallied and Japanese bond futures rose to their highest since Lehman Brothers collapsed in September as concerns grew over the banking sector and the broader economy. U.S. stocks hit a six-week low on Wednesday, with Bank of America and Citigroup plunging as investors questioned
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Apple Inc chief and tech visionary Steve Jobs will take a leave of absence till end-June because of health problems "more complex" than thought, backtracking on reassurances, stunning investors and sending its shares skidding 10 percent on Wednesday. Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, dropped his bombshell in a cryptic announcement on Wednesday — only nine
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Microsoft Corp is considering significant layoffs across its various divisions, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the company's plans. But plans for the cutbacks have not yet been firmed up and Microsoft could end up finding alternative methods to control costs, the Journal reported on its website. A Microsoft spokesman
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Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank, is close to getting billions of dollars more in federal support from taxpayers, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. As Congress debated the future of the government's $700-billion financial markets rescue program, the source said that Bank of America has struggled to digest its January
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European shares surrendered early gains and turned negative on Thursday morning, losing ground for the seventh session in a row as escalating fears over the beleaguered banking sector hit shares such as HSBC. Banks were among the biggest losers with Anglo Irish Bank down 16 percent, BNP Paribas down 6 percent and HSBC down 4.2
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Home Retail, Britain's top household goods retailer, posted big falls in underlying sales and profit margins at its catalogue-based Argos stores and Homebase do-it-yourself chain, hammering its shares on Thursday. The firm said it was suffering as shoppers affected by the economic downturn cut back spending on non-essential items, and that profit margins had been
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