Investors said good riddance on Wednesday to one of the worst years on record and prayed that massive government rescue plans will pull the global economy out of its fierce tailspin later in the new year. But more pain is expected in the near-term as bleak economic reports roll in, signalling more bankruptcies, bad debts
More
Online sales for the holiday period up to December 23 fell 3 percent from the same period last year, marking the first decline in online spending since comScore Inc started tracking online sales in 2001. Online spending reached $25.5 billion between November 1 and December 23, the company said, noting this was below its expectations
More
Bracing for a tough year ahead Among my readers, there will be some who remember war and the time leading up to it, when the future looked bleak and uncertain. Today, I and many others have a similar feeling, of fearful anticipation, as to what the year which starts tomorrow will bring. A year ago
More
New term or old? An earnest debate took place around our table the other night about the term “New World”. It arose because we were trying the wine reviewed elsewhere in this feature, the “Symbolo” from the Cretan winery, Lyrarakis. “Very New World”, somebody said. Centuries old though the term New World may be, it
More
What’s so special? Many of us are now drinking the bright, fresh and fruity wines of New Zealand, from the fair selection now available here. They are modern in style and presentation, with many examples being closed with screw-caps or other non-traditional methods. These wines seem to have suddenly exploded on to our markets, so
More
Industrial output in Cyprus inched up according to the Index of Industrial Production. The index reached 126.5 (base 2000=100), recording an increase of 0.3% compared to October 2007. For the period January – October 2008, the index recorded a rise of 3.2% compared to the same period of the previous year. For Manufacturing, the index
More
The total sales of petroleum products in November 2008 recorded a decrease of 11.1% compared to the previous month. A significant rise was recorded in the sales of Gasoil. A decrease was recorded in the sales of Motor Gasoline, Gasoil low Sulphur, Aviation Gasoline and Heavy Fuel Oil. The total stocks of petroleum products at
More
Employment rose and unemployment fell in the third quarter according to the results of the EU-compatible Labour Force Survey. The number of employed persons amounted to 381,903 (males 212,800 and females 169,100), compared with 301,131 in the third quarter of 2007. In the same period the number of unemployed persons was 14,146 (males 6,600 and
More
From Lyrarakis Lyrarakis “Symbolo” 2005 €49.00 from Cava Nostra and Oinion Pnevmata, Nicosia and Botiggliera, Limassol. A limited edition red, produced by the energetic Cretan Lyrarakis family, one of whose passions is the resuscitation of ancient local grape varieties. 6,000 bottles of this special Cuvée were made and importers Hartziotis took up an allocation. The
More
Franchises at mercy of unions? December was the worst month in Greece’s recent economic history, with the culmination of financial scandals and street riots rocking the New Democracy government that is on the verge of collapse. As if last year’s forest fires weren’t enough to hurt the economy, never-ending demonstrations by the powerful unions this
More