ProtoStar Ltd., a Bermuda corporation, and PlanetSky Ltd. of Limassol have announced a strategically important anchor customer lease agreement for PlanetSky to secure C band capacity on ProtoStar’s first satellite to be launched in May 2008. The agreement provides PlanetSky with five 36MHz equivalent transponders for its rapidly-expanding global satellite systems that support GPRS and

Standard & Poor’s Rating Services said it revised its outlook on the Republic of Romania to negative from stable. At the same time, the ‘BBB-/A-3’ foreign currency, the ‘BBB/A-3’ local currency sovereign credit ratings and the ‘A-‘ transfer and convertibility assessment on the Republic of Romania were affirmed. The outlook revision reflects the government’s limited

Food prices fall   The harmonised consumer price inflation rate (HICP) was 2.7% in October, up from 2.3% in September and 1.7% in October 2006. The consumer price inflation rate, measured on a slightly different basis, was 3% in October. Compared with the previous month, the biggest jump in the HICP was clothing and footwear,

The industrial output Prices index for September 2007 reached 129.2 (Base 2000=100), recording an increase of 0.8% compared to August 2007 and 4.4% compared with September 2006. For the period January–September 2007, the index increased year on year by 3.1%. The manufacturing index rose in September by 0.9% compared to August 2007 and by 4.7%

The index of industrial production for August 2007 reached 95.4 (base 2000=100), recording an increase of 3.1% compared with August 2006, according to the Statistical Service CYSTAT. For the period January – August 2007 the index recorded an increase of 3.4% compared with the same period of the previous year. For manufacturing, the index for

The Statistical Service CYSTAT has reported that on the basis of the results of the Passengers’ Survey, 105,173 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in September 2007, compared with 84,429 in the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 24.6%. In September 2007 there was an increase of 24.0% on the trips

Figures on consumer prices by economic origin show that the increase in prices is coming from local producers and service-providers, not from abroad. In the first ten months of 2007, prices of imports of goods excluding petroleum actually fell by 2.4% compared with the same period of 2006. But prices of petroleum products did not

The Cyprus government will distribute euro converter calculators to every household in Cyprus by November as part of the euro-awareness campaign ahead of the full adoption of the euro on January 1, 2008. Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said the euro-awareness plan is continuing as planned with emphasis now placed on informing rural areas about the

Moody’s outlook on the Ukrainian banking system reflects the combination of two key factors: its improving financial fundamentals and its significant structural weaknesses. Although the banking sector has achieved substantial progress in the past few years and opportunities for further development are quite favourable, systemic risks for privately-owned Ukrainian banks – particularly deriving from rapid

As world growth continues to slow, central banks in Europe face a difficult arbitrage between growth risks and inflation risks, says a report titled “European Economic Forecast: Europe’s Central Banks Weigh Inflation Against The Fallout From The U.S. Slowdown” published by Standard & Poor’s. “In setting monetary policy across Europe, the region’s central banks continue