The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) revenue for the period January – November 2008 advanced marginally by 0.8% Year-on-Year to EUR 1.8 bln. The marginal improvement is mainly attributed to the higher revenues associated with Special Contribution for Defence, up by 22.9% YoY to EUR 341.9 mln. Revenue from Corporation Tax advanced by 10.1% to EUR
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British labour restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian workers will remain in place, the government announced on Thursday. The economic downturn meant British workers' jobs had to be protected first, it said. "It is essential that only those we need can come here to work and that is why we have decided to continue restricting the
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The dollar and sterling fell sharply on Thursday, boosting the euro broadly as this week's aggressive U.S. rate cuts prompted speculation for deep rate cuts in Britain, while oil's tumble weighed on European shares. The dollar hit a 2-1/2 month low against the euro and held close to a 13-year low versus the yen after
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Greek marchers hurled firebombs and stones at police outside parliament on Thursday while unions grounded flights and shut down public offices in a 13th day of anti-government protests since police shot dead a teenager. Protesters waving red flags jostled with police, who formed a cordon around parliament, and attempted to burn down a Christmas tree
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The IMF cautiously forecast a U.S. recovery by early 2010 and a British central banker said on Thursday UK interest rates could hit zero, a level Japan's are forecast to drop closer to this week. The U.S. is mired in recession and has dragged much of the world with it, following the meltdown of its
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The U.S. dollar hit 2-1/2-month lows against the euro on Thursday, with investors deterred by the world's lowest interest rates, while oil prices remained near 4-year lows below $40 a barrel despite OPEC's record supply cut. European stock futures rose, pointing to a slightly higher open, though investors would likely be cautious ahead of the
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British retail sales rose unexpectedly in November but the public finances deteriorated sharply with government borrowing rising to a record monthly high, official data showed on Thursday. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes rose 0.3 percent last month, leaving them up 1.5 percent on the year. Analysts had forecast a fall of 0.6
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European shares dipped in choppy early trade on Thursday as oil stayed near the $40-a-barrel mark, hurting energy shares and pushing investors to seek the relative safety of drugmakers. By 0942 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 827.50 points after being down as much as 825.51
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Stock futures for the Dow Jones industrial average are up 0.6 percent and for the S&P 500 up 0.3 percent; Nasdaq 100 futures indicated down 1 percent. Highlights: * On the company earnings front, investors are focusing on numbers from package delivery group FedEx and world No. 3 software maker Oracle. Other companies to report
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Nearly 18 percent of households in the United States have no traditional telephone and rely on wireless services only, which is up several percentage points from a year earlier, the government said on Wednesday. In the first half of 2008, 17.5 percent of households were wireless only, up from 13.6 percent a full year earlier,
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