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☆ ECB to hike again but "very close" to neutral rates - Herodotou
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - European Central Bank interest rates will go up again but are now "very near" their neutral level, ECB policymaker Constantinos Herodotou said on Tuesday. "We are very near the neutral rate. There will be I think another hike or hikes," Herodotou, Cyprus' ECB Governing Council member, told a Bloomberg event. Having raised rates by a combined 200 basis points since July, the ECB is expected to hike by another 50 basis points on Dec 15, slowing the pace of policy tightening after back-to-back 75 point moves. "There will be more rate hikes to contain inflation," Herodotou said.

The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has opened a hornet’s nest of squabbles between foreign governments and its new U.S. chief executive, John J. Ray III . In Cyprus, the country’s securities regulator is complaining that Mr. Ray’s decision to place FTX in bankruptcy has stymied investigations and is preventing European customers from getting their money back. Officials in the Bahamas, where FTX moved its headquarters last year, are accusing Mr. Ray of making false statements and suggesting that his team is motivated by the prospects of earning hefty legal fees. In Turkey, authorities have seized the assets of FTX’s local subsidiary, an affront to Mr. Ray’s efforts to sweep FTX’s assets into the chapter 11 process in Delaware.

☆ Exclusive: India to offer incentives to boost shipbuilding industry - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 1(Reuters) - India plans to offer cash subsidies, lower taxes and other incentives to bolster its shipbuilding industry, two government sources said, as part of an effort to reduce the pain of high freight rates for the nation's manufacturers. RISK TO EXPANDING TRADEThe Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and the shipbuilding industry have sought the concessions, arguing that India needs to build its shipping industry due to growing risks of expanding trade with sanctions-hit Russia. India could save at least $25 billion annually in foreign exchange if government incentives helped private companies to develop the local shipping industry, he added. India has around 35 shipbuilding companies, including some state-owned firms. Its maritime freight industry consists of about 1,500 vessels with a gross tonnage capacity of around 13 million tonnes.

☆ EU fails to agree on Russian oil price cap, say diplomats
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The legal texts have now been agreed, but Poland still can't agree to the price," one diplomat said. No new date for talks has been set yet, diplomats said, even though the price cap mechanism is to enter into force on Dec. 5. It proposed that the EU and other global customers keep buying Russian crude, but only if its price is at or below a G7 agreed level. Poland, Lithuania and Estonia have been pushing for a price cap of $30 per barrel. Because the world's key shipping and insurance firms are based in G7 countries, the price cap would make it very difficult for Moscow to sell its oil for a higher price.

☆ Ukraine wants lower cap on Russian oil, at $30-$40 per barrel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 26 (Reuters) - The price for Russian seaborne oil should be capped at between $30 and $40 per barrel, lower than the level that Group of Seven nations have proposed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday. European Union governments, seeking to curb Moscow's ability to fund the Ukraine war without causing an oil supply shock, are split over a G7 push that the cap be set at $65 to $70 per barrel. The idea of the cap is to prohibit shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude around the globe, unless it is sold for less than the price set by the G7 and its allies. Poland, Estonia and Lithuania are pushing for a much lower cap than $65-70 per barrel while Greece, Cyprus and Malta want a higher cap. Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU delays talks on Russian oil price cap until next week, diplomats say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A meeting of European Union government representatives, scheduled for Friday evening to discuss a Group of Seven proposal to cap Russian seaborne oil prices, was canceled, EU diplomats said. On Thursday, European Union governments were split on the level at which to cap Russian oil prices to curb Moscow's ability to pay for its war in Ukraine without causing a global oil supply shock. The EU diplomats, who declined to be identified, said it was not clear how near both sides were to an agreement. "The latest is that Poland, Estonia and Lithuania are trying to outdo each other on their toughness on the price cap," one of the diplomats close to the talks said, adding that Poland wanted to link agreement of the price cap to a new package of sanctions against Russia. "Meanwhile Malta, Greece and Cyprus are in it for the money, whichever way they can get it - through a higher cap, or compensation, etc.

☆ EU struggles with Russian oil price cap, talks to resume when positions converge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

There will be a meeting of representatives of all EU countries once there is progress. Diplomats said that six of the EU's 27 countries opposed the price cap level proposed by the G7. Russian Urals crude oil already trades within the discussed range at around $68 per barrel. "That means the proposed cap would either be the same as, or slightly higher than, the price Russian oil is fetching on the open market. It would be, in other words, another price cap that does not cap," the Eurointelligence think tank said in a note.

☆ Oil drops 4% as the EU considers capping Russian oil prices between $65-$70, with the bloc split on the potential move
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices fell Wednesday following reports the European Union is thinking about capping Russian oil prices at $65-$70 a barrel. The Group of Seven nations has been working on a price cap since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But several EU diplomats said the proposed range was too high, Bloomberg reported. The price cap is meant to provide a carve-out in the EU's December 5 ban on seaborne Russian oil imports and related services worldwide. As Western customers shun Moscow, Russia has been selling its crude at a discount, which some analysts have estimated is already below the proposed price cap.

☆ With balloons and contact cards, first Israel-Qatar flight heads to World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Amir Cohen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Football fans queue before boarding the first direct commercial flight between Israel and Qatar for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel November 20, 2022. "There were a few concerns, I cannot deny that," said Sagi Ashkevitz, who was flying out with three friends to his second World Cup. Those boarding the TUS Airways plane at Ben Gurion Airport had originally been told they would have a brief stopover in Cyprus. Six more Tel Aviv-Doha flights for the World Cup have been approved so far, Mizrahi said. Riad Ziadna, a member of Israel's Arab minority who held a soccer ball as he stood in the check-in line, said he believed the World Cup would be "the starter's pistol for coexistence all over the Middle East".

Ray's statement came with a flurry of Saturday morning filings in Delaware bankruptcy court. In those filings, FTX asked for permission to pay outside vendors, consolidate bank accounts, and establish new ones. The new FTX CEO asked that employees, vendors, customers, regulators and government stakeholders "be patient" with them. FTX said in a filing that there could be more than one million creditors in these Chapter 11 cases. FTX's bank accounts reflect the global influence of the crypto-asset empire.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire warns about crypto website using its name
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), run by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Friday warned investors it has no affiliation with a purported cryptocurrency brokerage website using the Berkshire Hathaway name. It includes purported customer testimonials and says the broker is regulated in the United States, United Kingdom, Cyprus and South Africa, using incorrect names for two regulators. In a statement, Buffett's company said it learned about the website, berkshirehathawaytx.com, on Friday afternoon. "The entity who has this web address has no affiliation with Berkshire Hathaway Inc or its Chairman and CEO, Warren E. Buffett," Berkshire said. Buffett has run Berkshire Hathaway Inc since 1965.

☆ Greeks march to commemorate 1973 student uprising
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] People march during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of the 1973 student uprising against the military dictatorship that was ruling Greece, in Athens, Greece, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Costas BaltasATHENS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Thousands of Greeks marched through central Athens on Thursday to mark the anniversary of a violently quashed student uprising in 1973 that helped topple the military junta which then ruled the country. Brief tension broke out between police and protesters before the march reached the heavily guarded parliament on Syntagma square. At the front of the procession, youths held a blood-stained flag that belonged to the students engaged in the 1973 revolt. Earlier, people laid wreaths and carnations at the Athens Polytechnic, site of a bloody clamp-down on Nov. 17 1973 when tanks smashed through the gates to crush the revolt that heralded the end of the junta.

☆ Euro zone banks could take big hit from inflation income drain, ECB says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Euro zone banks may see a surge in soured loans as rapid inflation and rising interest rates hit household incomes, particularly among the bloc's poorest, the European Central Bank said in a fresh study on Tuesday. The ratio of non-performing loans stood at 2.35% at the end of the second quarter, suggesting a one-third increase in the worst case. Banks in Italy, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus could suffer some of the biggest increases in non-performing loans while France, Ireland and Luxembourg could be among the best performers, the ECB's study showed. "While outright defaults are likely to increase only slightly, the downside risks to banks’ asset quality are increasing, especially in vulnerable countries," the ECB said. "Lower-income households are the main source of defaults and increases in NPL ratios may vary across countries," the ECB added.

☆ FTX to start U.S. bankruptcy proceedings, CEO to exit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Crypto exchange FTX is to start U.S. bankruptcy proceedings and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is to step down, after a liquidity crisis at the cryptocurrency group that has prompted intervention from regulators around the world. The distressed crypto trading platform had been struggling to raise billions in funds to stave off collapse after a wave of withdrawals. "I'm really sorry, again, that we ended up here," said FTX founder Bankman-Fried, in a series of tweets after the commencement of the bankruptcy filing. FTX is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Justice Department, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to a source familiar with the investigations. Cyprus's Securities and Exchange Commission has asked FTX EU to suspend its operations on Nov. 9, the regulator said on Friday.

☆ Cyprus regulator requested FTX EU suspend operations Nov. 9
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NICOSIA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Cyprus's Securities and Exchange Commission asked FTX EU to suspend its operations on Nov. 9, the regulator said on Friday. "The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, November 9th, called upon the Cypriot Investment Firm FTX EU Ltd to suspend its operations and to proceed immediately with a number of actions for the protection of the investors," a statement from the Commission said. FTX had announced in September that it had received approval from the Cypriot regulator to operate as a Cyprus Investment Firm, allowing the company to fully own a local investment firm it had previously acquired, and operate in Europe. "The Company is regulated by CySEC under the provision of Investment Services Law and is authorised to provide investment services in Derivatives and/or other financial instruments. However, it is not licensed by CySEC to engage in the direct trading of crypto assets," CySEC said.

☆ Factbox: Global regulatory actions against FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FTX and its local units, had already attracted scrutiny from regulators around the world. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said on Thursday it would freeze the assets of FTX Digital Markets, the group's local unit, and also appointed a provisional liquidator for the unit. EUROPE/CYPRUSCyprus's Securities and Exchange Commission asked FTX EU to suspend its operations on Nov. 9, the regulator said on Friday. FTX announced in September it had received approval from the Cypriot regulator to operate as a Cyprus Investment Firm, allowing the company to fully own a local investment firm it had previously acquired. The local unit resumed withdrawals on Friday.

[1/7] People walk on the cracked soil caused by drought on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen, October 20, 2022. Qat can earn three times the revenue of any other crop but the steady cash flow comes at a heavy price. The bitter-tasting plant requires deep-well irrigation and disproportionate use of water, exacerbating Yemen's water scarcity problem. The conflict has destroyed water infrastructure, leaving millions of people without safe water to drink or grow crops. And a qat crop is harvested several times a year, while fruits are harvested only one time per year.

☆ Cyprus MPs launch inquiry into spyware development on the island
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NICOSIA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Cyprus's parliament opened an inquiry on Wednesday into the development of spyware on the island, after a draft European Parliament committee investigation report said it was an important export hub for the surveillance industry. The report cited Cypriot officials as saying 'three to four' companies produce spyware on the island. "Its been confirmed that Cyprus is a greenhouse for companies which produce spyware ... which has political backing," said MP Aristos Damianou of the opposition AKEL party, which sought the parliamentary inquiry. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades last week said any involvement of Cyprus in spyware surveillance in other countries was 'imaginary'. NSO, which sells its Pegasus spyware to government agencies, says it is a powerful tool in the fight against crime and terrorism.

☆ Greece to ban sale of spyware amid wiretapping scandal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said the report that the government was behind the spyware surveillance was "unfounded". He said the Greek state had not used or bought any such spyware and added that judicial authorities would investigate the latest report. Greece, he told reporters, will soon submit a bill to parliament banning the sale of spyware. The Documento report was the latest development in a wiretapping scandal that has sparked political uproar in Greece, as the European Union takes a harder look at the use and sale of spyware. A special European parliamentary committee (PEGA) that is investigating the use of Pegasus and similar surveillance spyware concluded a visit to Greece and Cyprus last week.

☆ Head of Cyprus Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos, dies aged 81
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NICOSIA, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The head of Cyprus's dominant Orthodox Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, died on Monday, his doctors said. The Church of Cyprus, an independent branch of the Eastern Orthodox communion, traces its lineage back to Barnabas, one of Christ's first followers. In Nicosia, a group of priests in flowing black robes were seen carrying a coffin from the Archbishopric, where Chrysostomos died, to a nearby church. Chrysostomos, who was elected archbishop in 2006, had been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, head of the estimated 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, said he was "deeply moved" by Chrysostomos's death.

☆ Pope says EU states should share responsibility for migrants
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A migrant on board NGO rescue ship 'Humanity 1' looks at dock in Catania, Italy, November 6, 2022. Camilla Kranzusch/SOS Humanity/Handout via REUTERSABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday European Union member states should share responsibility for taking in migrants and not just leave it to the countries where people arrive. He spoke as migration triggered fresh political tensions in Italy, where there has been a stand-off between the government and charity ships trying to disembark migrants. "The European Union has to take up a policy of collaboration and help. "Each government of the European Union should agree on how many migrants it can take," Francis said.

☆ Rising tensions between 2 of NATO's biggest militaries are driving fears of the first war between alliance members
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Greece and Turkey have two of NATO's largest militaries and are in an important corner of Europe. Their tensions have escalated in recent years, stoking new fears about the first war within NATO. Greece's defense spending in 2022 was the highest in the alliance as a share of GDP. (NATO also calls for 20% of members' defense spending to go toward equipment purchases and upgrades.) Greece's defense minister said that "as long as there is a threat of territorial sovereignty, it renders futile any attempt at communication."

☆ Euro zone may be facing recession but rate hikes necessary, ECB's Makhlouf says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NICOSIA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The euro zone economy may be facing a recession but rate hikes remain absolutely necessary because persistently high inflation is damaging the economy and stability, European Central Bank policymaker Gabriel Makhlouf said on Tuesday. "The euro area is facing a difficult combination of high inflation and low economic growth, including the possibility of a technical recession," Makhlouf, Ireland's central bank governor said in Cyprus. "History teaches us that these issues will only be exacerbated if we delay action and raising interest rates is absolutely necessary as persistent inflation is damaging to macroeconomic stability." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Jon BoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A quiet US move in the Mediterranean may help put more pressure on Russia, but not everyone in NATO is happy about it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US lifted its 35-year-old arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus in September. But the US decision has rankled Turkey, which is at odds with NATO ally Greece over the island. Increased cooperationThe Cypriot Underwater Demolition Team and US Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Europe train in Cyprus in September 2021. "This is a landmark decision, reflecting the burgeoning strategic relationship between the two countries, including in the area of security," Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades said after the announcement. Cyprus is one of many points of contention between Greece and Turkey, whose worsening relations have worried other NATO members.

A new 100-euro banknote is presented at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, September 17, 2018. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSenior staff presented the model to policymakers at a retreat in Cyprus last week. MODELS, DOUBTSThe ECB has raised its deposit rate from -0.5% to 0.75% in less than two months, its fastest pace on record, and another large hike is slated for Oct. 27. And staff said this rate peak would be even lower if the ECB hoovered up some excess liquidity from the financial system - a reduction in its balance sheet often called quantitative tightening - the sources added. Policymakers' key objection was that staff models have fared poorly in recent years so there was little confidence in an indicator that was so far below current market pricing, the sources said.

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