Bosch CEO tells magazine Greece has no place in EU

2012-02-15

The chief executive of one of Germany’s most respected manufacturers and an adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for Greece to be kicked out of the European Union because it is an “unbearable” burden.

“This state with its phantom pensioners and rich people that don’t pay taxes, a state without a functioning administration, has no place in the European Union,” Bosch CEO Franz Fehrenbach told Manager Magazin, according to a transcript of an interview to be published on Friday.

He is the latest in a number of senior German business figures to lash out at Greece over its role in the EU and a second euro zone bailout. A survey of over 300 managers in the magazine shows roughly 57 percent want Greece to drop out of the euro and reintroduce the drachma.

UK unemployment rate hits 16-year high

2012-02-15

The UK’s unemployment rate increased to a 16-year high yesterday after another rise in the jobless total.

Unemployment jumped by 48,000 in the quarter to December to 2.67 million, a jobless rate of 8.4 per cent, the worst figure since the end of 1995.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by 6,900 in January to 1.6 million, the 11th consecutive monthly increase.

The number of women claiming the allowance increased by 1,500 last month to 531,700, the highest figure since the summer of 1995.

A record number of people are working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs – up by 83,000 over the latest quarter to 1.35 million.

Iran trumpets its nuclear advances as standoff deepens with West

2012-02-15

Iran proclaimed advances in nuclear know-how on Wednesday, including new centrifuges able to enrich uranium much faster, a move that may hasten a drift towards confrontation with the West over suspicions it is seeking the means to make atomic bombs.

 Tehran was driving home its resolve to pursue a nuclear programme its hardline Islamic clerical leaders see as a pillar of power, protection and prestige despite Western sanctions that are inflicting increasing damage on its oil-based economy.

 Iran also aimed to show that the tightening sanctions noose has failed to stop it making progress in nuclear technology and to firm its hand in any renewed negotiations with world powers.

Government slams Turkey's 'bullying behaviour' over eastern Mediterranean gas finds

2012-02-15

 

The government today accused Turkey of using “bullying behaviour” over the division of the island and recent natural gas finds.

Gas production is set to climb in the eastern Mediterranean following the discovery of huge offshore reserves that have sparked competing maritime claims involving Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel.

Foreign minister Erato Kozakou–Marcoullis told Israeli Army Radio in an interview that Turkey had held numerous and “provocative” military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean over the past few months.

The show of force, she said, was an attempt to threaten Cyprus and Israel and try to discourage foreign companies from cooperating with the two countries in gas exploration and production.

Building permits decrease by 14.5 per cent

2012-02-15

Building permits fell 14.5 per cent in 2011 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, according to data issued by the Statistical Services

A total of 7,506 building permits were issued between January and December 2011.

At the same time, the total value of these permits decreased by 21.8 per cent and the total area by 22.8 per cent. Τhe number of dwelling units recorded a decrease of 38.2 per cent.

The number of building permits authorised by the municipal authorities and the district administration offices during December 2011 stood at 560. The total value of these permits reached €189.3 million euros and the total area 213.900 square meters. These building permits provide for the construction of 573 dwelling units.

Τourism revenue up by 12.9 per cent in 2011

2012-02-15

Annual revenue from tourism rose 12.9 per cent in 2011, according to the Statistical Service.

On the basis of the results of their passenger survey, revenue from tourism reached €41.6 million in December 2011 compared to €40.9 million in the corresponding month of the previous year, recording an increase of 1.9 per cent.

For the period January – December 2011 revenue from tourism is estimated to €1,749.3 million compared to €1,549.8 million in the corresponding period of 2010, recording an increase of 12.9 per cent

APOEL: It’s not over

2012-02-15

APOEL’s Champions League home form gives them reason to believe they can overturn Lyon’s slender but significant advantage in the second leg of their last 16 tie, according to their Brazilian defender William Boaventura.

They may have earned a reputation this season for pulling off shock results in qualifying top from a group containing the moneyed trio of Porto, Zenit St Petersburg and Shakhtar Donetsk, but following Lyon’s 1-0 victory at a bitterly cold Stade Gerland on Tuesday night, APOEL will have to outdo themselves if they are to remain in the Champions League.

Cypriot Nobel prize winner optimistic about economic recovery

2012-02-15

THE CYPRIOT economy has good prospects of recovering, particularly in the wake of the island’s hydrocarbons’ find, Nobel Prize winner, Christophoros Pissarides said today.

Addressing an event organised by the House in his honour, Pissarides said Cyprus had every reason to hope for recovery. With the natural gas find, this could be accomplished in the next two to three years, he said.

Referring to the high percentage of unemployment globally, he said the world economy must first recover before dealing with the issue of unemployment.

Unfortunately, he said, Europe’s economy was facing the worst issues in this year, adding that until now, no concrete solution had been found to deal with it.

Building workers warn of more to come

2012-02-15

TROUBLE IS brewing in the construction industry, after striking builders warned yesterday they would actively ensure all building sites were free of subcontractors today.

The construction industry yesterday came to a halt, after thousands of workers islandwide launched a 24-hour strike to protest employers’ decision to freeze pay rises and the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA).

They say that despite a recent agreement reached between employers and unions – after an intervention by the Labour Ministry – for CoLA to be left untouched, employers cut it unilaterally.

Our View: Christofias’ pettiness undermines office of the President

2012-02-15

THE PRESIDENT’S outburst against the Rector of the Cyprus University, Costas Christofides, during a graduation ceremony last Friday, was very difficult to comprehend, despite AKEL’s subsequent efforts to justify it. The truth is there was no justification for his aggressive tone and the shaking of his finger at the Rector, as if the latter was a naughty school-boy, in need of telling off.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.