Economy News

Athens - Trials, suffering, resurrection: the essence of Easter has a special ring to Greeks as the country hopes to pull through a painful six-year recession.

Caracas - A year after promising to continue Hugo Chavez's legacy, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro is struggling to lead an oil-rich country plagued by economic crisis, violent protests, and rampant crime.

Rome - Riot police dragged away some 350 squatter families from abandoned offices in Rome amid violent clashes on Wednesday -- the latest in a rising tide of forced evictions in Italy fuelled by the economic crisis.

London - Britain's unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low point of 6.9 percent in the quarter to February, as the country's economic recovery picks up speed before next year's general election.The rate dropped from 7.

York - Sales of PCs, tablets and internet-ready smartphones are set to go through the roof in the city of York, England as the local council announces a fibre optic network offering speeds of one gigabit.

Nicosia - Economic sanctions by Europe against Russia "would destroy Cyprus's economy," Nicosia's foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides said in a German newspaper interview published Wednesday."There are very strong economic ties between Cyprus and Russia.

Beijing - China's GDP grew at its weakest pace for 18 months in the March quarter, data showed on Wednesday, testing Beijing's resolve as its campaign to transform the world's number-two economy comes at the cost of a sharp slowdown.

Washington - The US Treasury said Tuesday that China cannot be ruled a manipulator of its currency despite the yuan's sharp slide since January.

Bras - Brazil's economy is forecast to expand by three percent next year, picking up briskly after years of stagnant growth, a top government economist said on Tuesday.

Strasbourg - The European Parliament adopted new rules Tuesday to tighten the regulation of financial markets in order to stop rampant speculation, including on foodstuffs.