Britain's top share index ended sharply higher on Wednesday as central banks moved to boost financial markets' liquidity, as commodity stocks tracked rising metal and crude prices and insurers posted strong profits. Sentiment was also underpinned by a report showing U.S. private employers unexpectedly added jobs in July. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 closed 101.5 points
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LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) – Oil rebounded from lows to near $123 a barrel on Wednesday after U.S. government data showed a drop in gasoline stocks last week, surprising analysts who had expected an increase. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories fell by 3.5 million barrels compared with forecasts of a 200,000 barrel
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BRUSSELS, July 30 (Reuters) – The European Union has agreed to go beyond United Nations sanctions on Iran, instructing its financial institutions to exercise "restraint" on export credits and allowing its navies to inspect all Iran-bound cargoes, a senior diplomat said on Wednesday. However, the EU regulation implementing the latest U.N. resolution on Iran will
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NICOSIA, July 30 (Reuters) – Authorities in Cyprus are investigating the destruction by poisoning of hundreds of trees on the Mediterranean island. The forestry department called in police after finding evidence that pine trees lining two key motorways had been deliberately killed. "We found that the lower parts of tree trunks had been pierced with
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The Council of Ministers approved Wednesday the implementation of new measures aiming at the smooth integration of non Greek speaking children in the school system of Cyprus. A press release by the Ministry of Education and Culture says that the Cabinet approved the launching of a pilot programme for the speedy teaching of the Greek
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Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou has requested Iran’s help at the Islamic Conference and in general with countries with which Iran has close contacts. In statements after his arrival from Tehran, where he attended the 15th Ministerial Meeting of the Non- Aligned Movement, Kyprianou said that he discussed the Cyprus problem with his counterparts and
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Motorola, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held AirDefense, a leading wireless LAN (WLAN) security provider. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. AirDefense is a privately-held developer of Wireless Intrusion Prevention Solutions (WIPS) and premium software applications, which enable corporations to secure their networks against wireless security threats and comply with
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Moody's Investors Service expects further write-downs for the large European banks' structured finance portfolios due to continued widening in US subprime RMBS spreads and deterioration in the credit quality of financial guarantors, together with falling property prices and the worsening US economic outlook. In a new Special Comment released Wednesday, Moody’s said the second-quarter impact
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Louis Cruise Lines has concluded a deal to buy the 731-berth Norwegian Majesty from Star Cruises at a cost of EUR 103 mln (USD 162 mln), and will add the Norwegian Dream to its fleet in a separate deal in September, making it the fifth biggest cruise company in the world. In an announcement issued
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British house prices are set to fall by a quarter in total but could find a floor next spring, unlike in Spain, which is set for a longer housing correction, debt rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said on Wednesday. S&P said the average cost of a UK house would revert to about 4.4 times
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