International lenders began talks in Cyprus recently to try to pave the way for a resumption of bailout payments after the island passed a law on foreclosure of bad loans.

Noble Energy has announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 18 cents per common share payable on May 26, 2015 to the shareholders of record at the close of business on May 11, 2015.

Billionaire investor Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., who pumped about €400m into Bank of Cyprus in August 2014 and now controls 19% of the island’s biggest lender, is confident that the bank will continue on its recovery path and as it continues to be restructured, it can gaze forward with a view to 'Bank of Cyprus, 2020'.

The government does not plan to raise taxes or cut pensions and wages, President Nicos Anastasiades assured civil servants recently, noting however, that government spending, including payroll, could only increase at a reasonable pace.

Cyprus plans to tap the international bond market and to this end the Finance Ministry announced recently that is has mandated four large international banks to update investors on recent developments and funding strategy.

Noble and its partners are expected to formally declare commerciality for the Aphrodite gas field in April 2015, followed by submission of a Development Plan soon after.

Cyprus’ third-biggest lender Hellenic Bank Group is looking to use the island’s position as a ‘stepping stone’ between Europe and the Middle East to attract new business.

Residential property prices in Cyprus recorded one of the largest falls in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to data from the EU’s statistical service Eurostat.

A 16% increase has been recorded in inbound flights from January to March 2015 compared to last year, Tourism minister George Lakkotrypis said recently as he opened the 18th tourism exhibition Taxidi 2015.

A leftist moderate promising to press for a peace deal in ethnically-split Cyprus swept to victory in a Turkish Cypriot presidential election runoff recently.