Cypriot bonds purchased by the European Central Bank (ECB) through redemptions of maturing bonds purchased during the Asset Purchase Programme (APP) amounted to €1.8 billion.
 
The ECB in June purchased Cypriot bonds amounting to €96 million with the total stock of Cypriot bonds held by the ECB in end-June amounting to €1,178 million.
 
The bonds’s remaining weighted average rose to 6.96 years in June from 6.3 years in end-April.
 
By the end of 2018 when the ECB terminated new bond purchases as part of the APP, the stock of Cypriot bonds acquired by the ECB amounted to €678 million that correspond to approximately 0,03% of total purchases.
 
A spokesman of the Central Bank of Cyprus told CNA that following Cyprus’ return to investment-status, that rendered the island’s bonds eligible for purchases, the ECB will increase the purchase of Cypriot bonds to Cyprus’ capital key of 0.2%.

Source: StockWatch

The government of Cyprus has prepared a bill which should be adopted by the Parliament by the end of the year in an attempt to enforce the establishment of companies which adopt policies of corporate social responsibility, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades has said.

Addressing on Friday the 12th conference on corporate social responsibility which took place in Nicosia, the Minister said that the society requires all organizations and businesses to undertake their responsibilities and  account for their actions.

He added that increasing demands for transparency, responsible behavior and the need for everyone to contribute to sustainable development goals require businesses and organizations to adopt actions on the environment and the society.
 
Georgiades said that in this regard, the promotion of policies of corporate social responsibility gains significance and  also stems from the wishes of modern customers and investors, who show their preference to companies that are socially responsible, respect people, legislations, business ethics and the environment.

He added that an increasing number of companies understand this necessity and acknowledge that there are many and long term benefits that come from the implementation of such actions.

Source: StockWatch

Get a new bikini and ready your Instagram – an infinity pool is coming to London.

This is not just any infinity pool, however. This is an infinity pool on top of a building in the centre of the city, providing 360-degree views of the area.

The designers, Compass Pools, say the pool is a ‘world first’, describing the concept as ‘the only building in the world to incorporate a 360-degree infinity pool’. Sounds fancy, right?

The plan is to have the pool sit on top of some hotel rooms at the top of a skyscraper, just to fully hammer home the luxury aspect.

The floors and sides will all be transparent, so visitors will see the swimmers paddling above them. Handy for exhibitionists who want to show off their breaststroke.

The designers imagine entry through a spiral staircase that rises in the water

In order to keep the pool looking glorious, there are no stairs on the outside of the pool or the building. How do you get in the water, you may ask?

Apparently, a spiral staircase will rotate and rise through the pool to provide access.

The concept images don’t show how this works, so we’re intrigued to see if this can actually become a reality.

We can only imagine how slippery those stairs will be. Guests at the hotel will be able to see the swimmers from underneath 

Swimming pool designer and technical director Alex Kemsley said: ‘We faced some quite major technical challenges to this building, the biggest one being how to actually get into the pool. ‘Normally a simple ladder would suffice, but we didn’t want stairs on the outside of the building or in the pool as it would spoil the view – and obviously you don’t want 600,000 litres of water draining through the building either. ‘The solution is based on the door of a submarine, coupled with a rotating spiral staircase which rises from the pool floor when someone wants to get in or out – the absolute cutting edge of swimming pool and building design and a little bit James Bond to boot!’ At night time the pool will be lit up with twinkling lights. Pretty.

Alex adds: ‘Architects often come to us to design roof top infinity pools, but rarely do we get a say in the building design because the pool is usually an afterthought. ‘But on this project, we actually started with the pool design and essentially said, ‘how do we put a building underneath this?’ ‘When we designed the pool, we wanted an uninterrupted view, both above and below the water.

Source: Metro

The long-awaited debt relief scheme for vulnerable homeowners was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday and is expected to be fully implemented by the end of the year, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said.

The stated purpose of Estia is to assist, support and protect vulnerable households who have mortgaged their primary residences houses for their loans and at the same time reduce the high number of bad debts.

“We consider Estia a scheme that adds to the toolbox for tackling this old residue, the serious problem of non-performing loans by focusing on what is perhaps the most sensitive category of borrowers, those who have their primary residence as collateral,” the minister said.

“We will monitor how it will be implemented, remaining optimistic that it will be a scheme that will substantively help households first and foremost, borrowers who found themselves in difficult position, and management of the problem.”

Parliament has already approved the budget, and banks and other asset management entities will enter the scheme next month. Eligible borrowers will apply in September and the first payments are expected to be made in December, the minister said.

It applies to loans (mortgages) that were classed as non-performing as at September 30, 2017. Loans designated as non-performing after that date are not eligible. The primary residence which is mortgaged must have a maximum market value of up to €350,000.

The scheme applies to the first mortgage on a residence, and covers loans or credit facilities regardless of currency.

Total household income of the applicant must not exceed the following: €60,000 for a family with at least four dependents; €55,000 for a family with three dependents; €50,000 for a family with two dependents; €45,000 with one dependent; €35,000 for a couple with no children, and €20,000 for a single-member household.

The criteria also apply for single-parent families.

An applicant’s other net assets in 2016, 2017, and 2018, must not exceed 80 per cent of the market value of the main residence after its evaluation. In any case they should not exceed €250,000.

Any cash or deposits exceeding €10,000, or 20 per cent of the rest of the applicant’s net assets, whichever is higher, and which are not used to secure any other loans, must be paid towards the non-performing facility before the restructuring procedure.

Other terms and conditions also apply.

The loans will be written down to the market value of the primary residence and then the borrower will have to pay two-thirds of the rescheduled loan every month and the taxpayer (the state) is going to subsidise one-third of the monthly instalments on that rescheduled loan.

Source: CyprusMail

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades has said that state monopolies are not the answer when it comes to competitive sectors.

Replying to journalists’ questions at the Ministry, on Friday, Georgiades dismissed opposition parties’ criticism over recent rise in airline tickets and allusions that this is related to the state air carrier Cyprus Airways shutting down in January 2015.

He spoke of previous bad management which led to the carrier’s defaulting and the European Commission’s unavoidable conclusion that state aid granted in support of the ailing airline in past years had been illegal.

“Without a doubt I reiterate now that state monopolies is not the answer in such competitive sectors,” the Finance Minister stressed.
According to him the answer is for market forces to be able to work. That is what institutions such as the Competition Protection Committee are there for.

A Finance Ministry press release shows that after Cyprus Airways shut down the Air Transport Passengers Index presented a significant drop and that from 2016 onward when low cost airlines made an appearance in Cyprus the index remains stable.

According to the graphics contained in the press release, there are significant changes in airline tickets for different destinations.

In particular, the cost to fly to Athens and to Thessaloniki, has presented a significant increase in June 2019.  

On the other hand, airline tickets to London and Manchester follow a downward trend.

In comparison to the relevant EU index for the period December 2016 to May 2019 the timeline seems to follow the same tendency but a lower price level.

Source: Stockwatch

Cyprus is among the few countries in the EU where house prices fell between 2010 and 2018, a new Eurostat report published on Wednesday said.

The largest decreases among member states were observed in Italy (-17 per cent), Spain (-12 per cent) and Cyprus (-8 per cent).

Overall, between 2010 and 2018, house prices increased by 15 per cent in the EU. Among the member states, the highest increases during this period were observed in Estonia (+83 per cent), Latvia (+61 per cent), Austria (+56 per cent), Sweden (+55 per cent) and Luxembourg (+50 per cent).

House prices, including purchases of both new and existing houses and flats, have fluctuated significantly since 2006 with annual growth rates in the EU of around 8 per cent in 2006 and 2007, followed by a fall of 4 per cent in 2009 as a result of the financial crisis. Prices started going up again in 2014.

Source: CyprusMail

It’s in the best interest of businesses to offer their customers a variety of payment options. Cryptocurrencies can undoubtedly bring more buyers and many merchants have introduced support for digital assets. A platform called Rocketr helps merchants accept payments in crypto, including bitcoin cash.

Rocketr is a payment gateway that allows merchants to integrate a variety of payment methods including traditional options like credit cards and Paypal, but it has also been supportive of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin cash (BCH). Its services are offered for a relatively low fee of 0.5% on all transactions and there are no other hidden charges for setup or maintenance.

The Rocketr Payments platform lets you accept all kinds of payments and invoice clients directly from a single dashboard. Its API provides you with the opportunity to customize checkouts and it allows for webhooks and instant payment notification. These features notify your Rocketr application when an order is completed.

Companies can also use a product called Storefront which is a complete e-commerce platform. It is designed to satisfy the needs of online businesses specializing in sales and delivery of products and services in the digital space. Many of its integrated features, such as the built-in messaging system and livechat support, are offered free of charge.

Rocketr has also developed a POS application that supports multiple cryptocurrencies including BCH. It lets you accept direct payments in several other major digital coins like BTC, ETH and LTC as well as fiat currencies such as USD, EUR and GBP. The software, which is available in Apple’s App Store, comes with many useful features, one of which lets customers add a tip to their bills.

If you want to process BCH payments you can also check out the Bitcoin Cash Register app for both iOS and Android devices. The simple Point of Sale software developed by Bitcoin.com allows merchants to accept electronic cash at any retail location. Payments are easy, safe and no account or registration is needed to install and use it.

Source: Bitcoin.com

Savvas Perdios, Tourism Deputy Minister has said that 2019 and 2020 are expected to be difficult years for tourism, among other reasons, because of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, adding that steps are being taken to find solutions, including attracting more tourists from the German market.

In statements, on the sidelines of the second annual awards "Cypria Filoxenia" which took place in Limassol, Perdios said that he expects that 2020 will also be a difficult year "because Brexit has been postponed until October, without anyone knowing whether this will actually be the case." Nothing can be taken for granted in the coming years, he added.
 
"It is a fact that this year wil l be a difficult year as well as next year," Perdios said, adding that his Deputy Ministry is constantly seeking solutions and is taking steps to come close to last year`s targets.

There are promotion steps taken towards the German market, he noted. " We are monitoring the situation vis-à-vis
this year`s reservations and we are ready to proceed with other promotional actions towards other markets, he said.

In his address, the Tourism Deputy Minister, said that an action plan which will seek to develop the concept of the word “hospitality” in our country is in the works.
 
Quality tourism is not just excellent hotel units but also genuin, traditional hospitality and high level behaviour, he pointed out.

This, he noted, is the reason that as soon as the Deputy Ministry was established it created a Hospitality Committee whose role is to give shape to “the concept of the word hospitality.”

He added that an action plan is being drafted which will seek to expand the essence of the word in our country with actions which will involve tourism professionals and the society at large.

Source: Stockwatch

Beat the heat with tips on how to keep your house cool without air conditioning.

Source: CBC NEWS

Cyprus has struck a production-sharing deal for the Aphrodite gas reservoir worth over $9bn (€7.9bn) over 18 years with Noble Energy and its partners, it was announced on Wednesday.

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said negotiations have finished with Cyprus getting a good deal under the circumstances that is worth over $9bn or around $500m (€443m) per year over 18 years, depending on the international price of oil. The revenues are based on an average price of oil of $70 per barrel.

Speaking after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Lakkotrypis said the parties were now at the stage of discussing the development and production plan.

Following that, the cabinet will be presented with two documents and will issue an exploitation permit.

“We had examined three scenarios, $60, $70, and $80 [per barrel]. Cyprus will become a natural gas producer and will also have a revised contract with very strict terms as regards the implementation of what has been agreed,” the minister said.

Specific milestones have been set that companies must respect or there would be serious consequences, he added.

Lakkotrypis said the revenues under the $70/barrel scenario will be variable “and will depend on the international price of oil. The figures I am referring to are the ones included in the intermediate scenario, which will possibly be the one that prevails.”

The talks began last summer, when the consortium telegraphed that it was not satisfied with the revenue-sharing deal in place.

The companies had struck a preliminary agreement to sell the Aphrodite gas – some 4 trillion cubic feet – to a liquefaction facility in Egypt.

However due to low oil and gas prices, the Aphrodite consortium believed the returns on their investment were unsatisfactory, and sought to renegotiate the revenue-sharing agreement with the Cypriot state.

The consortium’s investment would consist of an extraction platform at the site of the well, plus a pipeline running from the reservoir to Egypt’s shores.

Source: Stockwatch