Fitch Ratings has downgraded Cyprus`s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to `B-` from `B` with a Negative Outlook, and the local currency IDR to `CCC` from `B`.

Chairman of the Cyprus Hotel Association Charis Loizides on Tuesday expressed his optimism that tourist bookings in the months of July, August and September will cover the losses that were recorded in the tourist industry over the last two months.

The services sector took a hit in the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest figures on turnover.

The decline in industrial production deepened in March, output falling by 16.1% compared with March 2012, after a fall of 15.3% in February.

Cyprus plans to cut spending by around a billion in the next three years to rein in the deficit and a spiraling public debt.

The Cyprus government and the European Investment Bank have signed a loan agreement for €100 million to be used for various projects.

President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer stresses the need to reestablish trust and confidence in the Cyprus banking sector to help the economy return to growth and development as banks are the foundations of any economy.

Capital controls imposed on the Cyprus banking sector should be lifted as soon as possible, provided the sector is stabilized, the island’s bank association said.

A planned grant scheme for promoting and encouraging the use of renewable energy sources and energy saving will see 2,000 low income homes installed with photovoltaic (PV) systems in a scheme costing around €5 million.

The Central Bank of Cyprus announced it has appointed audit firm KPMG London to carry out an independent evaluation of the assets of the Bank of Cyprus and the Cyprus Popular Bank.